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HIT®’/*

Liiinji:iinr”iujj

Whole No

Oevoted to the Historical and Artistic

r> i> i>. tin iitt.vM tn i>t ini

TinM i trnniA nuT rni wt iivvt H*:!

A previously unknown essay by T. F. Morris, Sr. for the $5 note in the Educational
Series. Further information on the famous notes found in the Morris Archives is

reported by Glenn Jackson, on Page 60.

Official Journal of Xhe Essay^Proof Society

Scott's 1975 U.S. ^
Specialiied is the catalogue
tlieU.S. Specialist
^vabsolutely must have.^

And what's
your specialty,
my dear? .

"I blush to admit it. Vending and affixing machine perforations."

How fascinating. You'll need the Scott U.S. Specialized.
Because of the 96 sections in the U.S. Specialized, 52 deal with collect-
ing areas not found in Volume I. Our U.S. Specialized has everything
about U.S. stamps that's worth printing, including your vending and
affixing machine perforations.

"I'll affix that in my memory."

Take 1918 airmails. Our quotation of $40,000 for the invert
No. C3a was inspired by a recent auction where a very fine hinged
copy sold for $42,000.

"I'm coming unhinged."

And in the 1930 Graf Zeppelin series, nos. C13-C15 have
appreciated 72% since 1971.

"I'm very appreciative."

The U.S. Specialized has 22,782 price changes. (In fact, all
prices have been reevaluated since our 1975 Volume I was issued
last July.) And wait 'til you see the plate block prices. (You won't find
them in any of our other Catalogues.)

Plate block prices are skyrocketing!

"I'll be the first on my block
to buy the U.S. Specialized."

Since 1863.

The people who invented stamp collecting.

Jouirjial

Vermeil ^ward, Sipex iq66

Vermeil V^ward, SnternaLa *974

Vol. 32, No. 2

SPRING 1975

Whole No. 126

Published Quarterly by The Essay-Proof Society

Editor

Barbara R. Mueller, 225 S. Fischer Ave., Jefferson, Wis. 53549

Subscription Rate
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The 1861 Holocaust, by Ho^vard S. Friedman, Ph.D. 5 1

Morris Archives Yield New Information on Educational Series Silver Certificates, by Glenn E. Jaekson 60

Sperati “Die Proofs” Sold at Gibbons’ Auction 65

“Test Stamps” from Stockholmia Brochure II 68

David Gentleman on The Design of Postage Stamps 7*

Literature in Review 73

Latin-American Essays in Search of an Identity, by Barbara R. Mueller 74

Stamp Panel Guessing Game 7^

Paper Money Proof Material Sold at Stanley Gibbons Auctions, Ltd., London, June 24, 1974

(concluded) 80

Waterlow Sample Stamps (continued), by Marcus Samuel 85

Report of Auction Sales of Essays and Proofs 9t

The Essay-Proof Society, Inc.

More Photographs of Engraver’s Sample Sheets Available to Members
Secretary’s Report, by Kenneth Minuse

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

The Essay^Proof Society

Directors

E. Wilkens ’75, Ethel B. IVIcCoy ’75, K. Minuse ’75, A. El. Higgins ’75.
G. E. Jackson ’76, h. Finkelburg ’76, V. G. Greene ’76, Lynne S. Warm ’76.
Rae D. Ehrenberg ’77, J. L. Gros ’77, R. H. Pratt ’77, R. Wunderlich ’77.

Officers^ 1974-75

President Glenn E. Jackson, 637 Main Street, Watertown, Conn. 06795

1st Vice Pres. Robert H. Pratt, 3097 W. Mill Road, Milwaukee, WIs. 53209

2nd Vice Pres. Falk Finkelburg, Box 237, Coram, N. Y. 11727

Secretary Kenneth Minuse, 1236 Grand Concourse, Bronx, N. Y. 10456

Treasurer Ernest C. Wilkens, 1732 Norman St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 11227

Appointees, 1974-75

Attorney John D. Pope III, 55 S. Gove Ave., Webster Groves, Mo. 63119

Editor Barbara R. Mueller, 225 S. Fischer Ave., Jefferson, Wis. 53549

Auditor Albert H. Higgins, 70 University Place, New York, N. Y. 10003

Photographer Adrien Boutrelle, i Montgomery Place, Brooklyn, N. Y. 11215

Standing Committees, 1974-75

Catalog: Kenneth Minuse, Chairman, 1236 Grand Concourse, Bronx, N. Y. 10456; Robert
H. Pratt, Vice Chairman, 3097 W. Mill Road, Milwaukee, Wis. 53209; Eugene
N. Costales, Falk Finkelburg, Vincent G. Greene, James N. Sissons, Rudolph
Wunderlich.

Constitution ^ By-Laws: John D. Pope III, Chairman.

Exhibitions : Mrs. Rae D. Ehrenberg, Chairman, 164 W. 79th Street, New York, N. Y.
10024; Mrs. Ethel B. McCoy, Falk Finkelburg.

Journal: Barbara R. Mueller, Chairman, 225 S. Fischer Ave., Jefferson, Wis. 53549;
Glenn E. Jackson, David Lidman, Lynne S. Warm, Ernest Wilkens.

Publicity: Barbara R. Mueller, Chairman, 225 S. Fischer Ave., Jefferson, Wis. 53549;
Mrs. Rae D. Ehrenberg, John J. Ford, James B. Gilmore, David Lidman, Glenn
B. Smedley.

Recruiting : Vincent G. Greene, Chairman, 77 Victoria Street, Toronto I, Ontario. Canada;
Jack E. Molesworth, Herman Herst, Jr.

The Essay-Proof Society meets the second Wednesday of each month except January,
May, July and August (the January and May meetings will be held the following
day, Thursday) at the Collectors Club, 22 East Thirty-fifth Street. New York,
at 8 P.M. Visitors are cordially invited to attend these meetings, at which there
are always interesting exhibits and discussions.

rhc J^ssay-Proof Journal No. 126

The 1861 Holocaust

^Senxj Sf^urther Goiniiieiits on [Past [Researches concerning
the 1861 [Regular [Issue and a Slurther [Plea for a

(Sane and Sensible Catalog
By HOWARD S. FRIEDMAN, Ph.D.

The philatelic items listed in Scott’s
Lhiited States Stamp Catalogue
Specialized ^hereinafter referred
to as Scott or Scott’s Specialized) which
are the primary subject of this article
have largely been in existence for over
112 years. For the first 35 years or so
of their existence, it was known that
certain varieties existed of some of the
denominations, those of the 12-cent be-
ing the most obvious. Around 1896, Type
I and Type II of the 10-cent were dis-
covered, and this led shortly to discovery
of the different types of the remaining
1-, 3-, 5- and 90-cent denominations. In
1902, John N. Luff, in his book entitled
The Postage Stamps of the United
States, lit the match to the 1861 holo-
caust, which has burned continuously
since that time, through the pages
written by Ashbrook, Brazer, Chase, Dos
Bassos, Perry, York, and many others.

At the risk of mesmerizing some of
my readers, I must recapitulate certain
basic facts and fantasies published in
the philatelic literature of the past nearly
three-quarters of a century. Most of my
readers will be aware that it was Luff
who assumed that there were two distinct
series of regular issues printed and dis-
tributed by the National Bank Note
Company around August 1861. What
some readers may not know is that the
entire holocaust has been fed fuel during
the past 60 years by the erroneous list-
ings perpetuated in Scott. Luff, who had
been associated with Scott nreviously,
after a term of employment with Stanley
Gibbons returned to Scott in December
1910, whence until his death in 1938 he
was associated intimately with the Scott
catalogs. There is little doubt that Luff
was employed because of his enormous
philatelic erudition, and that his state-
ments in 1902 et seq. carried great
weight, particularly with regard to the
U. S. catalog listings.

At least as early as 1911, Scott listed
the 1861-8 issues in two groups, with
catalog numbers 55-62 and 63-78, respec-
tively. This listing had not changed for
over 60 years, until publication of the
1973 Scott Specialized. Herein the only

concession made to 60 or more years of
research was an additional listing. No.
62B, for the regularly issued 10-cent
Type I, which is known both unused and
used, and has been assumed to have
been regularly although inadvertently
issued. In the first Scott Specialized,
published in 1923 and compiled by
Eugene N. Costales, the 1861 printings
are listed under First Issue (Nos. 55N-62,
thin and transparent paper) and Second
Issue (Nos. 63-78, paper thicker and
more opaque). In the 1935 Specialized,
which was the first to have the present
large format, there were essentially no
changes in the two listings. Later
editions of the Specialized continue to
tout the two 1861 issues, while occasion-
ally feeding its readers soft pap in the
form of comments, such as “It is doubt-
ful that Nos. 55, 56, 57, 59, 61, and 62
were regularly issued,” and “This stamp
perforate and imperforate was not reg-
ularly issued.”

Starting around 1935 with the re-
searches and writings of Stanley B.
Ashbrook and Clarence W, Brazer, there
began a series of intensified studies of
the 1861 printings which culminated in
Elliott Perry’s (almost literally) “last
words,” with a summary by Cyril F. Dos
Bassos. Through the combined studies of
these and many other reserchers, each
with special tools, information, and inter-
ests in various aspects of philatelic
history, viz., engraving, printing, inks
and colors, essays, proofs, postal history,
government and other records and cor-
respondence, etc., the following facts con-
cerning the 1861 printings have been
established as of this writing;

Timetable of Events

(1) The National Bank Note Company
was assured on or about May 10, 1861
of their receiving the government con-
tract for the printing and supplying of
postage stamps, to begin on June 11,
1861.

(2) During the next 100 days the
National Bank Note Company was oc-
cupied in preparing and engraving dies

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

and plates, in selecting papers and inks,
and in checking the various stages of
each part of the process, while maintain-
ing close contact with Mr. A. N. Zevely,
the Third Assistant Postmaster General,
with respect to their progress and com-
pliance with various specifications.

(3) It was a matter of federal law
that any impressions prepared from any
engraved dies or plates prepared prior to
the government’s award of the contract
were neither official proofs nor valid for
postage or other official use.

(Jf) From a letter of July 27, 1861, it
is known that considerable difficulty was
being experienced in preparing an ink to
provide the required color for the 3-cent
denomination, and that an extension of
two weeks, from August 1 to August 15,
was requested and granted beyond the
initial date established for issuance of
the new series.

(5) The first deliveries of stamps were
made to various post offices on August
17, 1861, and included all denominations.

From the above one can draw further
conclusions based on known necessary
operations and functions of the nostal
system of that period. Since the contract
of Toppan, Carpenter, & Company was
due to expire on June 10, 1861, it can
be assumed that the National Bank Note
Company’s contract started on June 11.
This is a necessary assumption since the
National Bank Note Company could not
begin to engrave either officially ap-
proved dies or plates unless they held
the government contract. We know that
as early as May 18 the National Bank
Note Company had “. . . in the hands of
our engravers the heads of all but for
the 24 and 30 cent stamps. . . .” Since
the dies, transfer rolls, plates, and all
impressions from them which were in
the possession of Toppan, Carpenter, &
Company belonged to the Post Office
Department, these would in the normal
course of a change in contract be turned
over by the old contractor to the new
one. This would include all supplies of
postage stamps printed but not yet
distributed to post offices. Since the pre-
vious contract expired on June 10,
Toppan, Carpenter, & Company would no
longer be responsible for distribution
after that date, insofar as we know.
But since postal service must have con-
tinuity, supplies of postage stamps must
have been available to the National Bank
Note Company for distribution until such
time as the new designs and postage
stamps were ready. This would normally
have been through the end of the fourth
quarter of the fiscal year ending June
30, 1861.

During the years ending June 30, 1859,

1860, and 1861, Toppan, Carpenter, &
Company had issued, respectively, 192,
216, and 212 n.illions of stamps, or ap-
proximately 16 to 17.5 millions each
month. Between June 30 and August 15,

1861, some 43 million stamps would be
needed at post offices throughout the
country. Since these were no longer be-
ing supplied by Toppan, Carpenter, &
Company, they must necessarily come
from the National Bank Note Company.
Luff states there are no available
data regarding distribution of postage
stamps to post offices during this period.
Nevertheless the need is obvious, and
there is little likelihood of a sudden halt
in the use of stamps throughout the
country. On the other hand one must
remember that the 1851-60 issue was to
be demonetized in late August or early
September 1861, due to the recent out-
break of the War for Southern Indepen-
dence. Since the changes in the designs
for 1861 were made primarily to pre-
clude the use of the previous issues by
the Southern States, distribution after
June 1, 1861 of the prior issue must
have been extremely limited.

Because of its anplication to the com-
monest postage rate, the 3-cent denomi-
nation during 1859-61 comprised about
75% of the total distribution. Since it
was the ink of this denomination that
caused the National Bank Note Company
so much difficulty, it may have been
necessary as well as expedient to supply
only this value of the 1851-60 series
between June 30 and August 16 of 1861.
Examples of late 1861 usage of the
1851-60 series would be extremely
interesting in this regard.

Beyond this, I do not intend to repeat
the numerous arguments presented over
the past 40 years, but only to present .
the more important results, and some
further comments. First thinp’s first.
The 1861 printings delineate two
distinct series of eight designs each,
showing two designs for each of the
eight denominations, including the 24-
and 30-cent, as recently shown by Brazer
and others. The first designs (or Pre-
mieres Gravures, if you prefer) resulted
in the preparation of die and plate
essays. The latter are found most fre-
quently on proof paper, described as
being thin, transparent, and extremely
brittle, although some values have been
found on thicker, softer, more opaque
paper. These plate essays are finished
essays, i. e., fully gummed and per-
forated, although rare imperforate copies
are either known or claimed. Whether
or not these latter were prepared by the
National Bank Note Company because
of their eagerness to impress the Post

1 he Mssay-Proof Journal No. 126

Ortice Department with their artistic
and technical abilities and thus obtain
the 18()1 contract, regardless of the
initial expense involved, I leave to others
better qualified than I to argue pro or
con. One point, however. The total cost
for preparing eight plates of 200 sub-
jects each has been estimated at $4000,
which would have been a relatively small
investment in view of the possibility of
obtaining a six-year contract for some
$285,000, with the strong chance of
furtherance of that contract. On the
other hand, several writers have pointed
out the difficulty, nay, near impossibility
of the time factor, namely, that required
to prepare eight dies and eight or more
transfer rolls, plus additional lay-downs
of each die, and also enter 1600 sub-
jects onto the initial eight plates. An-
noucement of the call for bids for the
new contract was made on March 27,
1861 and closed on April 30, an interval
of only 33 days in which to make the
necessary preparations, and to submit
samples and bids. Of course, it is obvious
that the National Bank Note Company
knew long before March 27 that the cur-
rent contract was to expire on June 10,
and it is on this pivot that most writers
have based their assertions and assump-
tions as to the newly formed company’s
eagerness and energy. It is therefore
quite possible that they did begin to
prepare dies, etc., long enough before
the expiration of the contract to pre-
sent their finest efforts to the Post Office
Department.

^ . Tlie 3c Colors

The major difficulty encountered by
the National Bank Note Company
was in preparing an ink for the
3-cent denomination which would retain
its color on drying, without fading, and
being distinct from the other colors in the
, series. The colors used to prepare the
qie and plate essays for submission to
the Post Office Department are believed
to have been prepared from rich, vibrant,
and intense pigments. These, however,
were far too expensive for routine use
during the normal course of the contract.
The beautiful indigo blue of the 1-cent
essay was reduced to various shades of
blue for the issued stamps. So were all
of the rich essay colors so reduced, in-
cluding the vibrant brown rose of the
3-cent value. Most difficulty seems to
have been encountered with the latter.
The two principal colors of the issued 3-
cent stamps are various shades of pink
(No. 64) and rose (No. 65), with nu-
merous variations in chroma and value.
While pink is a pure red of low value,
many of the known copies are tinged
with blue. Rose, on the other hand, is
a yellowish red which, when mixed with

various degrees of black, tends toward
orange red and even red brown.

Scott lists two colors of the 3-cent
which are almost totally unrelated to
either the pink or rose varieties. No. 66
is in a lake or carmine lake color, which
is an intense bluish red. Because of its
high content of blue, it is easily confused
with violet, lilac, and other shades and
colors used for the 24-cent denomination.
No used copies of No. 66 are known,
although it is widely known imperforate.
Luff states that this printing was made
from Plate No. 34. However, it is well
known that Plate No. 52 was used to
print the imperforate variety. It is
difficult to conceive that these trial color
printings (for that is what they are)
would have been prepared from two
different plates, which differed in time
by probably as much as 48 months.

Scott No. 74 is listed as a 3-cent
scarlet. That it is not scarlet, nor even
vermilion, but probably a reddish orange
is the subject of another paper. Luff
states that this issue came from Plate
No. 19, which would indicate that this
was a relatively early attempt to vary
the color significantly. For what reason
the color proved unsatisfactory is un-
known. It is known “used” with a 4-
line pen cancellation, which is believed
to be a philatelic favor, possibly from
the pen of the esteemed Mr. John Scott,
prepared at a date probably much later
than that of its original nrinting.

Both the scarlet and lake varieties of
the 1861 three-cent desip’n were trial
color proofs, either partially (gummed)
or fully (gummed and perforated)
finished. The National Bank Note Com-
pany held their first contract for about
104 months before a change in designs
was requested, from August 1861 to
about March 1869, during which period
they laid down 26 plates for the 3-cent
denomination. Assuming rather regular
use and replacement of these plates for
the most commonly used value in the
series, one can estimate that a new plate
was laid down on an average of one every
four months. However, it seems prob-
able that the first four plates. Nos. 11-
14, had been laid down before August,
in anticipation of the laro^e demand for
this denomination. From the probable
dates of other plates, it would appear
that Plates No. 19, 34, and 52 were
laid down around January 1862, June
1865, and June 1868, respectively. Thus
there were at east two and possibly three
attempts during the period of the con-
tract to provide a more sat is factory
color for the 3-cent denomination. All
of these resulted in the printing of trial
color proofs on stamp paper, which were
not regularly issued.

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

Experinieotal Revisioiis
of Listings

Requests for changes in current
catalog listings are nothing new.
Elliott Perry spent a major por-
tion of his long and philatelically fruit-
ful life in this quest, as have many
others, including Stanley Ashbrook and
Lester Brookman. At least as early as
1911, philatelists were taking pot-shots
at the Scott Catalogue, and this seems
to be a^ major sport, especially of ad-
vanced collectors, much as armchair
politicians and military strategists sit at
home and tell the people running the
government how to reduce taxes, improve
the economy, and win wars. And over
the decades Scott has not been entirely
deaf to new discoveries. The last major
revision of the U. S. listings was in
1953, when the 1847 five- and ten-cent
stamps finally became Nos. 1 and 2, re-
spectively. Unfortunately, in order to
minimize changes in later numbers, the
reproductions, reprints, and reissues
were resurrected from the back of the
catalog, where they properly belong and
had reposed since 1923, to fill in vacant
numbers.

In his summary of Elliott Perry’s
parting shot at the 1861 holocaust, Cyril
Dos Passos once more proposed a new
catalog listing for this issue. His thesis
was “one denomination, one number.” I
find two serious objections to this pro-
posal, one based on considering the 1861-
8 series out of context of the rest of the
Scott Specialized, and the other in its
relation to other U. S. issues, partic-
ularly those of the 19th century.

What Dos Passos proposes would
result in the following listings:

Old

Number

Denomi-

nation

Color

New

Number

blue

pale blue

55a

bright blue

55b

63a

ultramarine

55c

63 b

dark blue

55d

63b

indigo

55e

black

gray black

56a

intense black

56b

3 c

pink

64a

pigeon blood

57a

64 b

rose pink

57b

rose

57c

3 c

bright rose

57d

65a

dull red

57e

65a

rose red

57f

65a

brown red

57g

65a

pale brown red

57h

65a

dark brown red

57i

5 c

buff

67a

brown yellow

58a

67b

olive yellow

58b

red brown

58c

5 c

dark red brown

58d

brown

68e

pale brown

58f

76a

dark brown

58g

62B

lOc(I)

dark green

62B

lOc(I)

dark yellow green

59a

lOc(II)

yellow green

lOc(II)

deep yellow green

60a

68a

lOc(II)

dark green

60b

68a

lOc(II)

blue green

60c

lOc(II)

green

60d

15c

black

15c

full black

61a

70b

24c

steel blue

70c

24c

violet

62a

24c

red lilac

62b

70a

24c

brown lilac

62c

24c

lilac

62d

24c

dark lilac

62e

78a

24c

gray lilac

62f

78c

24c

blackish violet

62g

78b

24c

gray

62h

30c

orange

30c

deep orange

63a

90c

blue

72a

90c

pale blue

64a

72b

90c

dark blue

64b

72b

90c

dull blue

64c

Assuming that Dos Passos meant to
continue the “one denomination, one
number” system through the p-rilled is-
sues of 1867, it would be patently im-
practical to cram both grill and color
differences, as well as other varieties,
under alphabetic divisions. If the system
is accommodated within the different
grills, viz.. A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, then
present numbers 79 through 101 would
become 65 through 94.

One

can see

from the above

that it

is much easier

to talk about Scott Nos.

67, 75, and 76

than about 58

through

58g.

Such a

system would be most

impractical. Moreover, such a

listing

could

logically

(if it were logical) be

extended to the present 1847 and 1851-60

issues.

resulting in something

like the

following:

Old

Denomi-

New

Number

nation

Color

Number

red brown

pale brown

hrown

dark brown

grayish brown

blackish brown

orange brown

brown orange

red orange

10c

black

gray black

greenish black

led)

blue

pale blue

led)

dark blue

lc(Ia)

dark blue

blue

Icdb)

blue

Icdl)

blue

pale blue

Icdl)

dark blue

lc(III)

blue

pale blue

dark blue

Ic (Ilia)

blue

8Ac

lc(IIIa)

dark blue

lc(IV)

blue

pale blue

icdv)

dark blue

3c(I)

orange brown

deep orange brown lOa

copper brown

10b

rile Mssay-IVoof journal No. 126

3c ( I )

(lull red

10c

orantre red

lOd

rose red

lOe

11a

3c ( 11

claret

lOf

deep claret

lOg

5c(I)

red brown

dark red brown

11a

lOc(T)

green

dark green

12a

yellowish green

12b

lOc(II)

green

dark green

13a

yellowish green

13b

lOcdlll

green

dark green

14a

yellowish green

14b

lOc(IV)

green

dark green

15a

yellowish green

15b

12c

black

gray black

16a

intense black

16b

led)

blue

pale blue

17a

18a

led)

dark blue

17b

lc(Ia)

blue

dark blue

18a

Icdl)

blue

pale blue

19a

20a

Icdl)

dark blue

19b

Icdll)

blue

pale blue

20a

dark blue

20b

Icdlla)

blue

pale blue

21a

22a

Icdlla)

dark blue

21b

IcdV)

blue

pale blue

22a

23a

IcdV)

dark blue

22b

lc(V)

blue

pale blue

23a

24a

lc(V)

dark blue

23b

deep blue

23c

lc(Va)

blue

23d

3cd)

rose

rose red

24a

claret

24b

dull red

24c

3cdl)

dull red

red

25a

rose

25b

brownish carmine

25c

claret

25d

orange brown

25e

26a

3c( Ila )

dull red

brownish carmine

26a

5c (I )

brick red

5cd)

red brown

27a

28A

5cd)

Indian red

27b

5c d)

brown

27c

pale bi’own

27d

deep brown

27e

yellowish brown

27f

5c ( II )

orange brown

deep orange brown

28a

30A

5cdl)

brown

28b

dark brown

28c

yellowish brown

28d

lOcd)

green

dark green

29a

bluish green

29b

yellowish green

29c

lOc(ir)

green

dark gi’een

30a

bluish green

30b

yellowish green

30c

lOcdii)

green

dark green

31a

bluish green

31b

yellowish green

31c

10c dV)

green

dark green

32a

bluish green

32b

yellowish green

32c

lOc(V)

green

dark green

33a

yellowish green

33b

12c (Plate

I) black

gray black

34b

36b

12c(Plate

III) black

34c

intense black

34d

24c

gray lilac

gray

35a

red lilac

35 b

30c

orange

yellowish orange

36a

reddish orange

36b

90c

blue

deep blue

37a

One can see that further pursuit of
the above system would result in further
confusion due to the present use of a,
b, c, etc., for not only color varieties but
also bisects, imperforates, and so forth.
Moreover, the system would require that
the 1861 series begin with No. 40 and
end with No. 79 leaving 32 vacant num-
bers before the 1869 series. Removal of
the remaining reprints, reissues, and
special printings (and their relegation to
a separate section in the catalog, as be-
fits their special status) would leave a
further 40 vacant catalog numbers up to
the Columbian Issue of 1893. This would
necessitate either skipping some 70 cata-
log numbers or else beginning the
Columbian series with No. 163. I believe
that the latter would not be wise, since
it would necessitate changes in some
1300 additional catalog numbers up to the
present issues. On the other hand, the
system outlined above still seems to me
to be a considerable improvement over
the present U. S. catalog system, which
in many instances does not have letters
for various color shades and differences.

In 1942. Ashbrook presented a pro-
posal for renumbering the 1861-8 series
to provide numbers from 55 through
72, which would fit into the present num-
bering system. This was based on the
artificial use of whole catalog numbers
for various color varieties. This in-
volved separation of the 2-cent colors
Full Black and Gray Black, the 5-cent
Buff and Mustard, the 12-cent Black and
Gray Black, and the 24-cent Violet, Steel
Gray, Steel Blue, Red Lilac and Lilac.
As one can plainly see, Ashbrook’s
system fits in with the present number-
ing system for the 1857 five-cent color
varieties. On the other hand, Dos Passos’
system w'ould require condensation of
the latter. In my view a compromise
system might be more workable than
either of the above. Before proceeding,
however, I should mention that such a
compromise system was proposed by
Lester Brookman in 1967, which with
its refinements would have resulted in a
difference of 59 numbers through the
1 8 9 8 Trans-Mississippi Issue. Practi-
cally nothing has come of this proposal,
which is now over seven years old.

Any new system for listing U. S.
regularly issued postage stamps must
consider a large number of factors in
order to arrive at a logical sequence.
Among these are the period of issue,
denominations, colors, and in some

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

instances the purpose of the issue. One
should consider in addition the purpose
of a catalog, as well as common or tradi-
tional usage, ease of understanding, and
ease of accommodation to further changes
based on new studies. In his 1967 book.
The United States Postage Stamps of
the 19th Century, Lester Brookman
frequenty commented that many U. S.
rarities were so scarce and so seldom
seen by most U. S. collectors, that he
did not believe that they should have a
place in the catalog. On the contrary,
the exact opposite is true. It is exactly
this type of information that should be
included in a specialized catalog of
United States stamps. Every regularly
issued postage stamp certainly deserves
a listing, that is, a catalog number. If
an item is truly scarce or even one of
a kind, then this should be noted in the
catalog.

Most catalogers have agreed that
stamps issued within the same time
period, which during the latter half of
the 19th century was equivalent to the
period of the contract for a given series
of designs, should be grouped together.
However, they have not always agreed
that within such a grouping the issues
be listed according to increasing denom-
ination. To the minds of most of us, the
issuance of a 2-cent value in 1863 and
a 15-cent value in 1866 during the period
of the National Bank Note Company’s
first contract is essentially no different
than the issuance of the 8-cent regular
issue and the 8-cent commemorative is-
sue in May 1893. Both of the latter are
properly grouped, respectively, in the
1890 regular series and the 1893 Colum-
bian series. Yet the 2- and 15-cent values
of the 1861-8 series are relegated to the
end of the series, along with certain
color changes of the 24-cent, as if they
were odd, unusual, or irregular issues.
The Scott editors may rationalize their
action in this regard by pointing out
that the 2- and 15-cent were both issued
late during the period of the first con-
tract. However, as there was no required
change in any of the other designs, as
there was in 1869, the 2- and 15-cent
should take their proper places in the
sequence of the denominations of this
series.

Xlie 24c Colors

IN former days when bids for a stamp
contract were solicited by the Post
Office Department, the announcement
might or might not contain specifications
for the color of each denomination. If
it did, these colors were used for sub-
mission by the bidders. If it did not, the
bidder was at liberty to submit designs
in those colors which were found, through

the preparation of trial color essays, to
be most suitable to the design and en-
graving of the particular stamp, most
pleasing to the eye, most likely to be
acceptable to the Post Office Department,
and so forth. In either event, before the
contract was awarded or the designs
accepted, the Post Office Department
might request changes in colors as well
as in designs. When the contract was
at length written, the colors for each
denomination were specified therein,
within reasonable working limits. Dur-
ing the course of any contract, if the
color of any denomination failed to give
satisfaction in actual use for one rea-
son or another, it was the prerogative
of the Post Office Department to request
that the color be changed or modified.

This appears to have happened with
the 3- and 5-cent designs of the 1861
issues, as well as being the result of the
considerable difficulty encountered with
the color of the 24-cent denomination.
The 5-cent buff (mustard, brown yellow,
and olive yellow) was in use for less
than five months when the color was
changed to red brown (January 1862).
Another change was apparently deemed
necessary by February 1863, when the
color was changed to brown. It seems
apparent that both the 3- and 24-cent
colors underwent a series of changes, not
due to official requests by the Post Office
Department, except insofar as to obtain
the color which was originally requested,
but because of the trouble which the
National Bank Note Company had in
prenaring suitable printing inks. The
Post Office Department doubtless autho-
rized modificatons in the color of the 24-
cent value due to these difficulties.

Aside from the dark violet found on
the essay, nine colors and shades are
listed under Scott Nos. 70 and 78, viz.,
steel blue, blackish violet, violet, dark
lilac, lilac, red lilac, grayish lilac, brown
lilac, and gray. Ashbrook, among others,
also mentions a steel gray. Violet and
lilac are both essentially blue colors mixed
with a relatively small quantity of red.
They differ in their chroma rather than
in their value, that is, in the amount
of pigment rather than in the strength
or intensity of the colors. From the
point of view of hue, which is that pro-
perty that enables one to distinguish one
color from another, the nine colors listed
above can be divided roughly into three
groups, viz., the steel blue, the violet
and blackish violet, and the lilacs.
Whether or not the gray (or any of the
others) is a color changeling is a difficult
question which I shall not attempt to
discuss here.

Scott bases its distribution of the list-
ings of the 24-cent colors on the evidence

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

presented by covers with date markings,
to indicate that certain colors were in
use at certain times. Yet there is no
indication that the actual officially speci-
fied color was ever changed during the
entire period of usage of this stamp.
Violet was the specified color, and in
1861 it was extremely difficult to obtain
batches of ink which were consistently of
the same color and printing charac-
teristics from day to day. Inks were
mixed largely by hand on a daily basis,
and it is doubtful that formulas were
rigidly adhered to. Add to this variations
in the quality of the basic pigments as
well as in the vehicle used to disperse
and hold them, and one can readily
surmise that color variation was the
rule rather that the exception.

If one removes the red pigment com-
pletely from a deep violet, one is left
with a shade of blue. The exact quality,
that is, chroma and value, of the latter
will depend on the basic pigment used.
In the case of the 24-cent 1861 denomi-
nations, it appears to have resulted in a
steel blue. This has been discussed in
detail by Ashbrook and others. If the
value, i. e., intensity of the red and blue
pigments used to prepare violet inks is
low, one obtains lilac. If onlv the blue

or the red pigment has low value, or if
there are variations in the ratios of blue
to red, and so forth, one can obtain a
reddish lilac or a deep lilac. If the red
pigment contains some yellow with vary-
ing amounts of black, a brownish lilac
results. If the vehicle used to disperse
the pigments contains various impurities
which can act chemically with either the
red or the blue pigments, other varia-
tions can result.

During the course of the 1861-8 con-
tract there is little doubt that research
in printing inks continued, and that there
was always a certain amount of experi-
mentation. This could account for the
new attempt some time after February
1863 CScott No. 78) to provide the cor-
rect violet color. All of this discussion
merely points out the various difficulties
and possibilities that could have been
encountered and entertained in order to
provide the officially specified color,
violet. Irrespective of the correct
answers, all of the shades and colors of
the 24-cent listed under Scott Nos. 70
and 78 belong to one denomination of one
design and one official color group, and
there seems to be no reason to separate
them under two catalog numbers grouped
under two different time periods.

D-efimite Revision of Listings

NEW proposed catalog listing of
all regularly issued postage stamps
of the United States prior to 1894,
at which time responsibility was taken
over by the United States Bureau of
Engraving and Printing, is presented be-
low.

New

Denomi-

Color

Old

No. Desigri

nation

(Type)

No.

Design

red brown

10c

black

Note :

: Nos.

3 and 4

in Special Printing

Section.

blue (I)

A3a

blue (la)

A3b

blue (Ib)

blue (II)

blue (III)

A5a

blue (Ilia)

blue (IV)

or. brown (I)

AlO

10a

dull red, etc.(I)

AlO

red brown (I)

All

10c

green (I)

A12

AlO

10c

green (II)

A13

All

10c

green (III)

A14

A12

10c

green (IV)

A15

A13

12c

black

AlO

blue(I)

A3a

blue(Ia)

blue(II)

blue (III)

A5a

blue(IIIa)

blue(IV)

A14

blue(V)

A20

A14a

blue(Va)

—

- —

rose(I)

AlO

A15

dull red(II)

A21

A15a

dull red(IIa)

26a

A21

red brown (I)

All

28a

Indian red(I)

28A

All

28b

brick red(I)

All

brown (I)

All

A8a

brown (II)

30A

A22

30a

A8a

or. brown (II)

A22

10c

green (I)

A12

AlO

10c

green (II)

A13

All

10c

green (III)

A14

A12

10c

green (IV)

A15

A16

10c

green (V)

A23

A13

12c

black (Plate I)

A16

A13a

12c

black(Plate III)

36b

AlO

A17

24c

gray lilac

A17

A18

30c

orange

A18

AlO

90c

blue

A19

Note ;

: Nos.

40-7 and

55-62 to be placed in

Special

Printing Section

A20

blue

A24

A21

black

A32

A22

pink

A25

A22

rose

A25

A23

buff(ol. yellow)

A26

A23

red brown

A26

A23

brown

A26

A24

10c

green (I)

62B

A27a

A24a

10c

green (II)

A27

A25

12c

black

A28

A26

15c

black

A33

A27

24c

steel blue

70b

A29

A27

24c

violet

70c

A29

A27

24c

lilac (& shade)

70,78

A29

A27

24c

blackish violet

78c

A29

A28

30c

orange

A30

A29

90c

blue

A31

GRILLS WITH POINTS

A22

rose A grill

A25

A22

rose B grill

A25

A22

rose C grill

A25

A23

brown A grill

A26

A28

30c

orange A grill

A30

GRILLS WITH POINTS DOWN

A21

black D grill

A32

A22

rose D grill

A25

A20

blue Z grill

85A

A24

5^ The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

A21

black Z grill

85B

A32

A22

rose Z grill

85C

A25

A24

10c

gr. (II) Z grill

85D

A27

A25

12c

black Z grill

85E

A28

A26

15c

black Z grill

85F

A33

A20

blue E grill

A24

A21

black E grill

A32

A22

rose E grill

A25

A24a

10c

green (II)

A27

A25

12c

black

A28

A26

15c

black

A33

A20

blue F grill

A24

A21

black

A32

A22

rose

A25

A23

brown

A26

A24a

10c

green (II)

A27

A25

12c

black

A28

A26

15c

black

A33

A27

24c

gray lilac

A29

A28

30c

orange

100

A30

A29

90c

blue

101

A31

Note

: Nos.

102-11

in Special Printing

Section

148

A30

buff

112

A34

149

A31

brown

113

A35

150

A32

ultramarine

114

A36

151

A33

ultramarine

115

A37

152

A34

10c

yellow

116

A38

153

A35

12c

green

117

A39

154

A36

15c

br. & blue(I)

118

A40

155

A36a

15c

br. & blue (II)

119

A40a

156

A37

24c

green & violet

120

A41

157

A38

30c

blue & carm.

121

A42

158

A39

90c

carm. & black

122

A43

Note

: Nos.

123-33

in Special Printing

Section

159

A40

ultramarine

134

A44

160

A41

red brown

135

A45

161

A42

green

136

A46

162

A43

carmine

137

A47

163

A44

vermilion

138

A48

164

A45

10c

brown

139

A49

165

A46

12c

dull violet

140

A50

166

A47

15c

orange

141

A51

167

A48

24c

purple

142

A52

168

A49

30c

black

143

A53

169

A50

90 c

carmine

144

A54

170

A40

ultramarine

145

A44

171

A41

red brown

146

A45

172

A42

green

147

A46

173

A43

carmine

148

A47

174

A44

vermilion

149

A48

175

A45

10c

brown

150

A49

176

A46

12c

dull violet

151

A50

177

A47

15c

bright orange

152

A51

178

A48

24c

purple

153

A52

179

A49

30c

black

154

A53

180

A50

90c

carmine

155

A54

181

A40a

ultramarine

156

A44a

182

A41a

brown

157

A45a

183

A42a

green

158

A46a

184

A43a

dull pink

159

A47a

185

A44a

or. vermilion

160

A48a

186

A45a

10c

brown

161

A49a

187

A46a

12c

blackish violet

162

A50a

188

A47

15c

yellow orange

163

A51a

189

A48

24c

purple

164

A52

190

A49

30c

black

165

A53

191

A50

90c

rose carmine

166

A54

192

A41a

vermilion

178

A45a

193

A51

blue

179

A55

Note :

Nos.

167-77

Special

and 180-1 to be placed in
Printing Section

194

A40a

dark ultra.

182

A44a

195

A41a

vermilion

183

A45a

196

A42a

green

184

A46a

197

A51

blue

185

A55

198

A43a

pink

186

A47a

199

A45

10c

br.(w/o mark)

187

A49

200

A45a

10c

br. (with mark) 188

A49a

201

A47

15c

orange red

189

A51a

202

A49

30c

black

190

A53

203

A 50

90c

carmine

191

A54

Note :

Nos. ;

192-204 to be placed in Special
ing Section.

Print-

211

A59

ultramarine

212

A59

212

A57

green

213

A57

213

A54

vermilion

214

A46b

214

A58

carmine

215

A58

215

A52

indigo

216

A56

216

A49

30c

orange brown

217

A53

217

A50

90c

purple

218

A54

218

A 60

dull blue

219

A60

219

A61

lake

219D

A61

220

A61

carmine

220

A61

221

A62

purple

221

A62

222

A63

dark brown

222

A63

223

A64

chocolate

223

A64

224

A65

brown red

224

A 65

225

A66

lilac

225

A66

226

A67

10c

green

226

A67

227

A68

15c

indigo

227

A68

228

A69

30c

black

228

A69

229

A70

90c

orange

229

A70

230

A71

deep blue

230

A71

231

A72

violet

231

A72

232

A73

green

232

A73

233

A74

ultramarine

233

A74

234

A75

chocolate

234

A75

235

A76

purple

235

A76

236

A77

magenta

236

A77

237

A78

10c

black brown

237

A78

238

A79

15c

dark green

238

A79

239

A80

30c

orange brown

239

A80

240

A81

50c

slate blue

240

A81

241

A82

salmon

241

A82

242

A83

brown red

242

A83

243

A84

yellow green

243

A84

244

A85

crimson lake

244

A85

245

A86

black

245

A86

Obviously there will remain a difference
of some 60 numbers through the 1893
Columbian Issue, the last issue to be
printed by private bank note companies.
How these should now be numbered is
subject to numerous alternative schemes,
depending on the degree of mental
trauma which the catalog makers wish
to inflict on their readers. One such
scheme is presented above. In certain
instances the design numbers have been
selected somewhat arbitrarily in order
to correlate with the current system.
Major catalog changes are not new. But
it will almost certainly confuse both
album makers and album fillers. The
main purposes of the comparatively
drastic changes outlined above are (1)
to remove the reproductions, reissues,
reprints, and other special printings
from their present positions among the
regularly issued stamps, and to relegate
them to their own section as was done
in past years; (2) to regroup various
designs within issues according to de-
nomination, and within denomination
according to color and/or neriod of use;
and (SI to eliminate other printings
which were either never valid for post-
age, never issued to the general public,
or both. The latter includes various
imperforate varieties, trial color print-
ings, and, of course, the 1861 essays.

The proposed listing under a new
section entitled Special Printings is as
follows.

SPECIAL PRINTINGS

Several times between 1875 and 1883, the
United States Post Office Department had printed
and offered for sale to the general public, at
face value, reproductions, reissues, reprints, or
special printings of all previously issued United
States postage stamps. The fii'st of these were
made available in 1876 in conjunction with the
Centennial Exposition to be held in Philadelphia
in 1876. Numbers given in parentheses are those
believed to have actually been sold.

I he Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

SPl

red brown (4779)

SP2

10c

black(3883)

SP3

bright blue(3846)

SP4

scarlet(479)

AlO

SP6

orange brown (878)

A22

SP6

A 9

10c

blue green (516)

A12

SP7

A13

12c

greenish blackU89)

A16

SP8

A17

24c

blackish violet(479)

A17

SP9

A18

30c

yellowish or. (480)

A18

SPIO

A19

90c

deep blue (454)

AlO

SPll

A20

blue(3195)

102

A24

SP12

A21

black (979)

103

A32

SP13

A22

brown red (465)

104

A25

SP14

A23

brown (672)

105

A26

SP15

A24a

10c

green (451)

106

A27

SP16

A25

12c

black (389 )

107

A28

SP17

A26

15c

black(397)

108

A33

SP18

A27

24c

deep violet(346)

109

A29

SP19

A28

30c

brownish or. (346)

110

A30

SP20

A29

90c

blue(317)

111

A31

SP21

A30

buff(*8252)

123

A34

SP22

A31

brown (4755)

124

A35

SP23

A32

blue(1406)

125

A36

SP24

A33

blue (2226 }

126

A37

SP25

A34

10c

yellow (1947)

127

A38

SP26

A35

12c

green (i584)

128

A39

SP27

A36b

15c

brown & blue(1981)

129

A40

SP28

A37

24c

green & violet (2091)

130

A41

SP29

A38

30c

blue & carm.(1535)

131

A42

SP30

A39

90c

carmine & bl.(1356)

132

A43

SP31

A30

buff(*8252)

133

A34

SP32

A40a

ultramarine

167

A44a

SP33

A41a

dark brown

168

A45a

SP34

A42a

blue green

169

A46a

SP35

A43a

dull rose

170

A47a

SP35

A44a

reddish vermilion

171

A48a

SP37

A45a

10c

pale brown

172

A49a

SP38

A46a

12c

dark violet

173

A50a

SP39

A47

15c

bright orange

174

A51

SP40

A48

24c

dull purple

175

A52

SP41

A49

30c

greenish black

176

A53

SP42

A50

90c

violet carmine

177

A54

SP43

A41a

carmine vermilion

180

A45a

SP44

A51

bright blue

181

A55

SP45

A40a

ultramarine ( 388 )

192

A44a

SP46

A41a

black brown (416)

193

A45a

SP47

A41a

scarlet verm. (917)

203

A45a

SP48

A42a

blue green (267)

194

A46a

SP49

A51

dark blue(317)

204

A55

SP50

A43a

dull rose(i85)

195

A47a

SP51

A44a

scarlet verm. (473)

196

A48a

SP52

A45a

10c

deep brown (180)

197

A49a

SP53

A46a

12c

blackish pui'ple(282)

198

A50a

SP54

A47

15c

orange (169)

199

A51a

SP55

A48

24c

dark violet (286)

200

A52

SP56

A49

30c

greenish black (179)

201

A53

SP57

A50

90c

dull carmine(170)

202

A54

SP58

A52

gray brown

205C A56

SP59

A53

pale brown

211B A57

SP60

A54

deep blue green

211D A58

In addition to the items listed above,
the Special P r i n t i n g; s section either
should include those Specimen over-
prints of the Department and the large
Newspaper and Periodical designs which
formed part of the Special Printings, or
else should contain a notice referring
the reader to the section dealing with
Specimens, where a proper explanation
should be presented.

It is the fervent desire of the writer
and of numerous other collectors of
United States philatelic issues, as well
as of certain other collectors, that there
be available a Specialized United States
Stamp Catalogue which will provide a
wide range of information regarding the
origins, preparation, printing, usage, and
purposes of the various classes of U. S.

postal designs. Obviously it is diffcult to
put together a one-volume encyclopedia.
On the one hand, however, there is much
information missing from the present
catalog, as well as what has over the
years been shown conclusively to be mis-
information. There appear to be several
categories in the current Specialized that
could be deleted without detriment to
U. S. philately, e.g.. Postal Note Stamps,
Savings Stamps, Customs Fee Stamps,
the duplicative section on Booklet Panes,
Souvenir Cards, and, last but by no
means least, Christmas Seals.

There is a tremendous wealth of valu-
able, accurate, and interesting data and
information concerning U. S. philatelic
history, which is distributed widely in
innumerable handbooks, articles, jour-
nals, documents, and other sources. The
task of sifting this material, much less
simply obtaining it and reading it, is a
stupendous one. However, much has
been done, usually by various specialists,
during the past 100 or more years. Many
aspects of U. S. philatelv have been the
special interest and area of study of
such outstanding researches as Ashbrook,
Chase, Dos Passos, Brookman, Rich,
Perry, Luff, and so many others that
there would be insufficient space to list
even a few of them. Each of these
writers has made a special study of one
or more facets of this theme, and most
in the course of times have digested
much of the available material and pre-
sented it to us who are not so fortunate
to have the necessary source material
available.

While I would solicit the comments,
criticisms, and suggestions of my
readers, I have not the slightest doubt
that the catalog controversy will be rag-
ing in the year 2011, as it did in 1911,
and probably before. Nevertheless it is
necessary on occasion to correct major
errors as well as sins of omission and
commission. Although these will undoubt-
edly continue to occur as long as phila-
telic historical research continues, the
present major sins have been perpetuated
in the Specialized Catalogue for over
three-quarters of a century, and it would
appear to be the time for major and
drastic changes.

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

Morris Archives Yield New
Informatioe on Educational Series

Silver Certificates

Work IBeJiaiii Miicli Earlier Tliam Previously Pelieved

NEW FIVE-DOLLAR ESSAYS FOUND

By GLENN E. JACKSON

^HE most detailed description of the inception and production of the 1896 Silver
Certificates known as the “Educational Series” is found in the writings of the late
Thomas F. Morris, Jr. He devoted Essay-Proof Journal No. 98 (Spring 1968)
in its entirety to this chapter in his father’s biography. (The same chapter is also found
in the book version The Life and M ork of Thomas F. Morris i8^2-i8g8.) Now, over
a year after his death, his files have yielded still more information on these controversial
notes, specifically on the designing of the five-dollar which provides strong evidence that
the series was conceived and in progress much earlier than previously believed.

I'he 1896 Silver Certificate series, acclaimed the most beautiful United States cur-
rency, was brought about by the “blood, sweat and tears” of Mr. Morris, Sr. This
fact is plainly brought out by the notations in his personal diary and also by the dates
on some newly discovered essays for the five-dollar note in the series.

This series of Silver Certificates was authorized by an Act of Congress, August 4.
1886, yet it was not issued until ten years later! Mr. Morris did not come to the Bureau
of Engraving and Printing until November 1, 1893. The work on the five-dollar i8gi
issue must have been considered by Casilear (see Figures i and 2 with the series date
engraved as 1891). How could this be? Walter Shirlaw was not asked to consider
making a design until late 1894 or early 1895. One possible answer may be that the
frame was engraved in 1891 and the Shirlaw vignette later “tried in.”

The I\ssay-Proof journal No. 126

6 1

Enlargement- of the issued note with “Series of 1 896” tablet

Fig. 1. Essay or progress proof for the $5 face showing a tablet just below the

right “5” reading “Series of 1891.”

Fig. 2. Enlargement of the “Series of 1891” tablet.

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

Fig* 3.^ Essay or progress proof for the $5 face showing the tablet just below the
right 5” reading “Series of 1895.” Note also the dark, heavy black dove below

“STATES.”

Fig. 4. Enlargement of the “Series of 1895” tablet and dark dove.

Further evidence that work on the series dragged on is the fact that a proof of
the hve-dollar note with the series indicated as 1896 is not known. However, discovered
in the Morris archives and illustrated here for the first time are two essays with the
engraved date iSgs- See Figures 3, 4. 5, and 6.

One conspicious change was made by Mr. Morris in an attempt to lighten the trouble-
some background of the five-dollar face; this is evident from the fact that the dove at
upper right is dark in the i8qi and i8qs dated essays and lightened to a white as issued.

As a professional bank note designer, Mr. M orris knew that the geometric lathe-
work on a note was a great deterrent to counterfeiting. It is my opinion that Mr.
M orris tried to get some lathework on the face as evidenced by the essay shown in
Figure 7. He fought the muralistic design but was overruled by the “gang” around him.
Therefore, tliis is the only series of U. S. currency which has no lathework on the face
of the notes. Ho\\ever, Mr. Morris gained half a victory, as the backs, which were his
designs, do have beautiful lathework and are the only U, S. currency hacks with por-
traits.

The J’.ssay-Proof Journal No. 126

Fig. 5. Essay or progress proof for fhe $5 face wifh a “Series of 1895” tablet

but a lightened, white dove.

Fig. 6. Enlargement of the “Series of 1895” tablet and light dove.

Fig. 7. An essay design (rejected) featuring lathework in the counters behind the

large numerals. No series date given.

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

More Photograplis of Engraver’s Sample
Slieets Available to Members

In the continuing program to make available to members 8x10 glossy photographs
of the elaborate engraver’s sample sheets of the 19th century, the following items have
been prepared and are available for $1.50 each postpaid, mailed flat, from Kenneth
Minuse, 1236 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10456.

Please order these sheets by name rather than by number as was the case w ith
those illustrated in Journals 120. 122 and 125.

No identifying name on sheet

The Tssay-IToof Journal No. 126

Spcrati “JDic Proofs” Sold at Gibbons’ Auction

W^iat was probably the first-ever auction sale of forged “die proofs” was held in
London on December 5, 1974 Stanley Gibbons, Ltd. Offered in 455 lots was an
assortment of the work of famed forger Jean de Sperati. They brought a total of ap-
proximately $53,000, more than double the auctioneer’s valuation. Representative reali-
zations were:

Australia 1913 — 2£. black

Same in issued colors

Cape of Good Hope 1883 — 3 sh.

Cyprus 1903 — 43 pi

Gold Coast 1889 — 20 sh. without signature

Malta i860 — Yz p. black signed

Same in color but unsigned

Brazil 1843 — 60 r.

Same 90 r.

Guatemala 1881 — 2c with inverted center, issued colors

U. S. New York City Despatch Post 1841 — 3c

Confederate States 1862 — loc in color

$423

525

155

200

130

525

423

173

230
1 00
1 1 2

BLpaoDOCTiCii iimmi

Cyprus

Cape of Good Hope

Cibralter

Cold Coast

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

Confederate States

Australia

Switzerland New York City Despatch Post

In their introduction to the attractive auction catalog, L, N. and M. Williams
wrote :

“For half a century the name of Jean (or Giovanni) de Sperati was a byword
throughout the world of philately. Indeed, even now, 17 years after his death, his pro-
ducts in the nefarious field of forgery always bring a frown to the brow of any col-
lector who has come in contact with them.

“Sperati’s name first appeared in the philatelic press in 1909, when he and his
brother Mariano figured in a report in Philipp Kosack’s house journal, Berliner Brief -
marken T^eitung. The report quoted in The Work of Jean de Sperati, published by The
British Philatelic Association in 1955, drew the attention of readers to an approval
selection distributed by the two brothers, and pointed out that many stamps in it \\ere
very dangerous forgeries. That was only the first of many other complaints about the
Speratis’ activities, and between the nineteen-twenties and nineteen-forties Jean perfected

The l^ssay-Proof journal No. 126

Guatemala

his ‘art’ to such an extent that deception of ‘experts’ became the rule rather than the
exception.

“Sperati considered himself a master artist and did not regard his productions as
forgeries but rather as works of art. He fabricated them with extreme care, and spared
no effort to improve them as he found necessary. He produced not only stamps but
cancellations, overprints, proofs and even covers bearing his products. They were
specially dangerous from a philatelist’s point of view because in many instances he printed
forged impressions on genuine watermarked paper. This was done by fading out the
original design and leaving not only the watermark but also the genuine cancellation intact.

“I'he outstanding defect among most of his products, as far as the knowledgable
philatelist is concerned, is the fact that they were printed by a method different from
that used for the genuine stamps. He employed photo-lithography, whereas many of
the stamps he copied were relief-printed (typo.) or recess printed (engraved) ; examina-
tion under a glass reveals the discrepancy, and only in cases where the original stamp
was lithographed is there real difficulty.

“One of Sperati’s special prides was the production of ‘die’ proofs. They were not
die proofs in the generally accepted sense of the term, because Sperati did not use dies
in the production of his forgeries; but they were like die proofs in appearance, being
printed on large pieces of card or paper and with comparatively large margins around
the impression. Each one was signed below the design by tbe forger himself, and these
relics of a master forger’s art are of no mean philatelic historical importance because
they show stages in the progress of his work.

“He did not make ‘die’ proofs of all his productions, but those that he did print
are of considerable rarity, far more than of his usual forgeries. That a collection of
such proofs alone can have been formed, and that they occupy an entire auction, will be a
matter of astonishment to most philatelists. Yet here they are, these hundreds of proofs,
assembled in one sale which is sure to attract worldwide attention.”

Theme of the 1975 Netherland Antilles social-cultural welfare issue was art in
ornamental stone. Two of the stamps feature carvings used in house architecture, while
the third shows an ornate detail of a tombstone in the Portuguese-Israeli cemetery.

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

“Test Stamps’’ from Stockholmia

Brochure II

Among the various “favors” distributed in 1974 by the management of the Stock-
holmia ’74 international philatelic exhibition was a page of test stamps or labels used by
the Swedish post office. Such “provfrimarken” closely resemble actual Swedish stamps
issued since 1937. In fact, the dark blue center left specimen is very similar to Scott
type A168 of 1967. Tbe top label is green; center right, purple, green and orange; bottom
left, magenta; and bottom right, brown. All but the Uppsala Cathedral and woman’s
head labels are minus any country name but are complete in most other respects, includ-
ing perforations on two sides.

The official explanation of the Swedish test stamps written by Gilbert Svenson
accompanied tbe insert in the brochure and is reprinted here for the record;

“In 1937 the Swedish Postal Administration bought a Goebel printing press for
stamps from Germany. It was to replace the Stickney rotary press made in the USA
which had been in use since 1919.

“To test the new German press the chief engraver of the Swedish Postal Administra-
tion at that time — Sven Ewert (1895-1959) — made an engraving for a stamp showing a
portrait of a woman in profile with the text ‘1937 Stockolm S Sverige E’. The letters ‘SE’
stand for the signature of the engraver. The original of the picture of the woman was an
engraving by J.Deinninger in an edition of ‘Shakespeare Gallerie’ from the 19th century.
The test stamp was imprinted on a normal printing cylinder. The latter was also used
to make the print samples of the 1939-40 stamps with the portrait of Gustav V’s right
profile as well as to test the booklet machine which was set into operation in 1940.

“In 1964 another printing press for stamps Avith a capacity for three-colour print
was delivered by Goebel AG. To test the press both in Germany before delivery and
in Sweden during tbe running-in period a special printing cylinder was imprinted with
test stamps in B-size (31.25 x24 mm). The engraving shows the interior of Uppsala
Cathedral looking towards the high altar. The text is — UPPSALA DOMKYRKAN
SVERIGE. The engraver Czeslaw Slania (born 1921) probably got the inspiration for
the motif when the same year he worked with the stamp series ‘Uppsala Archbishopric
800 years’.

“From the test printings in Darmstadt from where the press was delivered waste
proof sheets of this test stam.p have been brought out on the market by mistake and are
sold in stamp shops and at auctions as ‘test prints’ of the 1967 stamp in the value 4.50
Sw. crowns with the same motif. Slania’s beautiful engraving was, however, not used
as an ordinary stamp until four years later after tbe lower text line had been changed
to ‘SVERIGE 4:50’. The stamp was printed in red colour with the signature of the
engraver to the right under the picture. On the test stamp the signature was placed
straight under the word ‘Sverige’.

“In 1970 a third test stamp. ‘Snurran’ (the top), was made. Because of its different
closely engraved sections adjacent to each other it made tests with multicolour process
printing easier. It shows an abstract picture composition within a circle. The text is —
PROV PROV^MARKE. Alajvor Franzen (born 1938) made the engraving. The cylinder
imprinted with this text was used as well as Slania’s test stamp to test the efficiency
of the three-colour printing press. But the picture of the stamp is some millimetres lower
than on the 1969 test stamp.

“In 1971 another test stamp was made, this time in the somewhat larger C-size
(26.6 X 31.25 mm). The stamp shows a man’s head in profile after a sculpture from
classical times and a cubistic figuration. The text is — PROVMARKE (lest Stamp).

s\Oc

The l^ssay-Proof Journal No. 126

^ X

•74-

Provfrimarkeii vid Postverkets Frimarkstrycken
Test stamps, used at the Swedish Post Office
Stamp Printing Works

. 'I (••I'MU I ■ »<■

sTOCKHkI.'I

n;'/ ^ :i j'rt

Kvinnohuvud
Woman’s head
Gravor —

' Engraver Sven Ewert

Uppsala domkyrka
Uppsala Cathedral
Gravor — Engraver
Czeslaw Slania

"Snurra”

■’Snurra" (Top)
Gravor — Engraver
Majvor Franz.en

Huvud med bakgrund
Head with background
(iravbr - Engraver
Mbcrt lorpes

Drottningholmsteatern
Fhe Drottningholm Theatre
Gravor Engraver
/iatko Jakus

Utl fx: f nU {(nitrtf/i ' / n> ffttfit nn '

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

Under the picture of the stamp is the signature Albert Jorpes (born 1913), who is
employed as banknote engraver at the Bank Note Printing Works of the Bank of
Sweden.

“Another test stamp was made in 1972 by the young stamp engraver Zlatko Jakus
(born 1945). I he stamp shows an exterior of the Drottningholm Theatre after a photo.
'I'he size is A2/C.

“All the test stamps described are used continuously by the Post Office Stamp Printing
W orks. Different colours and the possibility to mix the colours in multicolor process
printing must, for example, be tested beforehand. As can be seen from the specimen on
the enclosed sheet of paper, the above-mentioned ‘Snurran’ has been used to test the new
unique 6-colour method used when making the lO Kr stamp ‘Gaslisa’, which was issued
on November 12, 1973. They are also used to test different roll and book packs and to
test electronic steering units in the machines, etc.”

Such testing labels are defined by “Cinderella” stamp authorities L. N. and M.
Will iams as “a label in stamp form produced usually by a firm of postage stamp printers
for testing stamp-vending machines or for other test purposes sometimes in connection
with Post Office training schools.” They point out in Stamp Magazine that among well-
known British examples are the “Prince Consort essay” which was produced in the early
1850s to demonstrate the effectiveness of relief (typo) printing; the “Minerva” label
produced by De La Rue and Co. as a specimen for use in stamp books; the “Harrison
Head” type made by Harrison and Sons for the same purpose and for testing vending
machines; and the notorious “Poached Egg,” which caused a furore in the philatelic
wor Id in 1937.

Polish-born Swedish engraver Czeslaw Slania shown demonstrating his art at the Stock-
holmia 74 exhibition for King Carl XVI Gustaf.

The Tssay-Proof Journal No. 126

David Gentlemafi 07i

Tlie JDesign of Postage Stamps

excerpts from a lecture to the Royal Society of Arts

(The name of David Gentleman has been synonymous with British stamp design in rc.ent years. In
1969 he was awarded the Reginald M. Phillips Award for Postage Stamp Design.)

Stamps are never majestic or breathtaking, rarely very e.xpressive; they do not move

us or influence our attitudes; the bad ones barely even disappoint us, though they may

well irritate us, and the good ones vanish, for on the envelope — where they really belong
— they are totally ephemeral. But they can on occasion be informative, apt, amusing,
even pretty; and although they are very small, this does not prevent them attracting
concentrated scrutiny (as many designers know to their cost). What is more, they are
printed in such quantities that they are (for a week or two) quite hard to avoid. Some
of them get collected; many get posted abroad. And since stamps reveal a great deal,
not merely about their designers, but about the authorities that issue them— their
attitudes, standards and style — designing them, though exciting enough, is subject to
unusual problems and pressures.

I am not a stamp designer, except whilst I am working on one; probably not many

such specialised animals could survive in the world; nor am I a philatelist; and I do

not know^ very much about the history of the stamp. My main activities are painting
W' atercolours, graphic designing, and print-making. But I have designed quite a lot of
stamps — 20 sets or so, w^hich means close on 2,000 million stamps, or about square
miles of them.

Stamps are not just miniature paintings; indeed great paintings on stamps are
generally disappointing, like listening to the Choral Symphony on a crystal set. Trying
to reduce Constable’s Cornfield, for example, on to a stamp would be almost impossible,
though one might well be able to make a very pow'erful design by using only a tiny
fragment of it — an evocative detail, like the ears of wheat perhaps, wuth their freshness
of an early September morning. But to put an entire Old Master on is almost impossible,
and indeed on the only honourable exception I can think of (France SG1552) the painter
Matisse has abandoned his paints for his designer’s scissors. But many aspects of stamp
design are common to painting, graphics and prints; what then precisely distinguishes the
task from that of making a lithograph or a poster for a watercolour?

It is not simply a question of scale; .things can be beautiful and well-designed, or
ill-considered muddles at any scale. Nor is it just a matter of skillfully exploiting the
printing process, for print-makers like Rembrandt were doing this long before there were
stamps. The difference is that wTen one is painting, one starts by responding to a visual
stimulus — a head, or a landscape; but in designing a stamp, the process is reversed: one
has to translate a complicated, hazily-defined and verbal subject into visual terms which
will finally be concentrated, interesting, and self-explanatory; and into a design wTich
can satisfy not only the printers but also the Post Office’s own operational needs. This
is quite a mouthful. But it is precisely these demands that, by accident, gave rise to
the first, and the most famous stamp of all.

In 1840, incredible though it may now’ seem, new' cheap postal rates were coming
into force, and Rowland Hill needed some kind of adhesive label for prepaying these
charges. So he set up a Treasury competition for suggestions for what (since he was
anxious about the risk of forgery) he called “Inimitable stamps”. Of the 2,600 entries
four got prizes; and although none of these w’as entirely suitable as it stood, elements
from each went into the Penny Black; the chief one. Queen Victoria’s portrait, because
it was so familiar that the least deviation by a forger would be spotted by the public.

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

But even this beautiful portrait, the most familiar image of Victoria that exists,
came about in a very complicated way. It began with William Wyon’s modelling of
the City Medal, which was in turn copied, and refined by Henry Corbould; and this tonal
drawing was finally turned into a line engraving by the remarkable skill of the engravers
Charles and k rederick Heath. Two further elements were added to make forgery harder
still : corner letters which were different on every stamp in the sheet; and an engine-
turned background — a moire pattern of mechanically engraved lines. This instant classic,
a joint effort of some complexity, still seems of unsurpassed grace (even though The
Times called it “a disgrace to the arts of the country”). But when Rowland Hill said
of it with splendid Victorian confidence, “We are doing our best to diffuse a taste for
fine art”, he w^as voicing for the first time a continuing confusion (w’hich has bedevilled
the subject, ever since). ^

As one narrows down the choice of subject, one also starts narrowing down the
techniques one will use for portraying them.

"1 his was not a problem in the great days of line-engraving, when the artist just
confidently handed his image over to the engraver, who knew how to translate as if by
magic a delicate, soft drawing into an image made up entirely of hard, sharp little lines.
But even then, certain softer qualities eluded the most skilled engravers; they w^ere a
bit like Liszt trying to turn a piano into an orchestra; the work always remained an
interpretation. And as really skilled engravers grew rare, the images they could cope
with had to become cruder and more linear.

By odd contrast, the newer but related technique of photogravure can’t really cope
with a very thin line, but it can reproduce almost anything else equally well, from
the softness of pastel and the delicacy of watercolour or the airbrush to the bold sharp-
ness of a wood engraving or the scalpel precision of coloured films. Technically, there-
fore, the designer has a free choice. But a bold style which might emphasize the crude-
ness of an early machine would not be able to suggest the silkily impersonal mechanical
qualities of modern metal; and one has somehow to choose a common denominator
between them.

At this stage, colour also becomes very important: the most obvious problem is
register. Colour printing depends on laying different colours on top of each other; the
more accurately this can be done (the better the “register”), the sharper it looks. As
the roll of blank stamp paper feeds through a line of printing machines (maybe as many

as ten) each prints a different colour on to it; and if the image were bigger there would

be no problems. Suppose you were printing a big poster of, say, a heroic engineer with

a pink face and brown eyes; the paper could stretch by a tiny fraction of an inch be-

tween the pink printing machine and the brown and you would never even notice. But
if the same face was reduced on to the corner of a stamp, the identical minute printing
inaccuracy would be disastrous. And one now has an important choice. Either one
feels that this is just something for the printer to worry about or one tries to avoid the
things that cause such dangers — as indeed one would have to do when making a colour
lithograph, for example.

Perhaps by now you feel tempted to say “Come on: these are only little technical
details of craftsmanship wTich any capable designer takes in his stride”. But they are
much more important than that. Because a stamp is so small, these details loom large
enough to affect, not just how one draws the design, but the development of the w’hole
idea from its very outset — subject and treatment alike.

My own first set of designs, for National Productivity Year, got off pretty lightly
considering how’ had they were. The NPY arrow symbol had to be included, and I
tried to use some more arrows to suggest (or even, as I half-hoped, to spark off) a
sudden great national upsurge of energy; hut arrows are about as dated as symbols as
they are as weapons, and the only thing they really signify is the designer’s inability to

1 he Essiiy-l^roof Journal No. 126

/ j

think up anythiiifj better. Luckily, however, criticism concentrated on the subject, not
on tlie designs. And criticism of my next set, the lifeboats, turned on the white back-
ground, and not on the awkward (not to say dangerous) position of the head. But
there was tremendous anxiety about putting Shakespeare on a stamp. He would be
the first commoner ever to appear on one; the Post Office even had to pretend it was
celebrating an event (the 400th anniversary of his birth) rather than a person. But
I dug my heels in and would not agree to redo the design without Shakespeare; and
some silly schoolboy cracks were made, even I am afraid in Parliament, about the
Midsummer Night’s Dream design with the Queen’s face next to Shakespeare’s Bottom.

1 here was even more official anxiety about the Churchill portrait. On one of the
first designs I stupidly included a vertical white line, which was pounced on as a
necessary symbolic barrier, a sort of cordon sanitaire, between the Queen and the Subject;
it spoilt a strong design and it was impossible to print cleanly, but I just didn’t have
enough “clout”, as the Americans call it, to insist on removing it; to say — as Churchill
himself might have said — “this is something up with which I will not put”, as I could
have said to any other client. What is more, the juxtaposition of the two photographs
(for the Churchill head is only an unretouched line-print photograph) accidentally created
a “peeping-over-the-shoulder” effect, which shows the problems caused by that three-
quarter view Dorothy Wilding head: suitable enough when it was the main element on
the definitive, but very hard to incorporate gracefully on a design in which it was only
subsidiary.

Looking back, these anxieties about the Queen’s head, and the public reactions, seem
extremely childish; and yet I think they were important symptoms of a genuine embarrass-
ment about a half-sensed conflict of functions between traditional stamps and the new
ones.

Sad to relate, stamps never begin with a designer seeing something pretty and think-
ing “that would make a good stamp”. The mechanics of a new issue start with an idea
for a theme, perhaps suggested within the Post Office, by a member of the public or
even by a public institution which would like its own stamp (never by the designer).

Literatiuire in Heview

'The Universal Postal Union Members &’ Stamps i874-igy4, 354 pages 6xgj4"> illustrated,

hardbound, edited by M. William Tyrrell, published by Van Dahl Publications,

Inc., P. O. Box 10, Albany, Oregon 97321. $10.00

This belatedly received observance of the UPU centennial is far more than the
usual topical stamp list. The author, an attorney and Ohio state senator, approaches
his subject in a methodical, professional manner. He divides the book into three parts,
the first of which is a 45-page chronological history of the UPU with emphasis on events
which were philatelically commemorated and the work of the individual congresses. Also
discussed in this section is the functioning status of UPU today.

Part II consists of a brief history of the Union’s member nations, with dates of
admission to UPU and a list of dates of UPU issues of each country.

Part HI, by far the largest, is a complete catalog of all UPU commemorative issues
listed under the categories of centenary of Paris Postal Conference; anniversaries; Inter-
national Bureau issues, congresses and other UPU meetings; dedications; entry or
anniversaries of entry; and miscellaneous. Scott, Minkus and Gibbons numbers as well
as tbe author’s own system are given with each issue. Postal stationery, questionable
issues and every known label claiming a UPU connection are also included. The usual
F'rench area proofs are mentioned also.

Anyone remotely Interested in UPU philately will find this book a useful addition
to his working library.

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

Latin ^American Essays in
Search of an Identity

By BARBARA R. MUELLER

During the past two decades I have acquired a considerable number of essays
for Latin-American stamps in an unusual format — stamp-size miniature paintings
on lined school composition-book paper. The name of the designer is still not
certain, although one of the dealers who originally marketed the essays, the late Richard
Cone, claimed it was A. W, Patterson, an employee of American Bank Note Company
during the period from the end of World War I to World War II.

iVlost security printers do not reveal the identity of their artists, and so no one
has been able to confirm this identification or shed any light on Mr. Patterson’s career.
Other specialist dealers in Latin-American material are vague about the origin of the
painted essays as they turn up occasionally in their stocks. Cone once acquired 180
of them in a lot, and of these, 25 were for Costa Rican stamps.

Almost all of the what shall be called “Patterson essays” (for want of a better
name) demonstrate a preoccupation with the frames, numerals, and decorative elements
of the designs. Vignettes were either rough sketches or separate drawings, engravings
and photographs pasted into the frames.

Shown here are typical examples of Patterson essays. When more photographs be-
come available, further listings wfill appear in future issues of the Journal. Meanwhile,
assistance is requested from any reader who may have further information about these
essays and their alleged designer.

Colombia: Tempera and wash drawings for the 15c and 30c values of the 1939 issue.
Both have previously engraved vignettes tipped in. Both are marked “Accepted.”
Colors are dull blue (15c) and olive bistre (30c), closely approximating the finished
stamps.

Colombia

Ecuador: Unidentifiable design, perhaps for the frame of the vertically arranged stamps
in the 1937 issue. Lightly sketched in ink, w^ash and pencil to create a bluish-gray
monotone.

Ecuador: Dark blue wash, tempera and pencil essay for the 1938 issue commemorating
the 150th anniversary of the Constitution of the United States. Note that the ver-
sion of the numeral escutcheon at the right w^as chosen for the finished stamp.

Ecuador: A series of unaccepted essays, probably for a postal tax stamp (note inscription
“Seguro Social Del Ecuador”). Essay A differs from Essay B primarily in the
placement of “Correos Del Ecuador.” Essay B, marked “little off on size, ’ was

I he I'’ssuy-Proof journal No. 126

Ecuador — unidentifiable design

€ ' 1' c M ot t. s E & Qy < Cl; K T

V & ?*»OMUt0Acso« or u

“■ 4 » £ «t&dos uHims aw

*tet

•1# <

HmhBw* ■HIP

vKiivni OEiii’iviims

Ecuador — essay for and actual stamp commemorating the

U. S. Constitution

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

Essay A

evident!}' corrected by the artist, who also changed a few details, such as the numerals.
Po create the finished essay, a colored photograph was made of the frame and
vignette. Then the background was drawn in wash and the outlines of the figures
were strengthened in pencil.

Paraguay: Wash, tempera and pencil essay in green for the three peso blue of the
Buenos Aires Peace Conference Issue, 1939. The artist created two versions of
the frame and border. The right side was chosen and marked “This Side.”

Peru: Unaccepted multi-colored drawing in wash, tempera and pencil for a projected
hut never issued stamp. The inscription and lightly sketched American flag suggest
that the stamp was to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the U. S. Constitution.
The overall feeling and format are suggestive of other countries’ commemoratives
for this purpose, notably Ecuador, Salvador and Honduras. Note the pencilled
“Accepted.”

I'he l^ssay-Proof Journal No. 126

Paraguay — essay and issued stamp

Peru — essay for a never-issued stamp

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

Tom Sawyer

K 'I'oin S»ivi%ii>r

B ^

B PPP^^

'n>ni Stiw>i"r

» I ntel Sta««i §<•

1 nkwl Stmm 8c

1\«i Hh«,w

1 1 nitKi sttu^s 3c

1 'nitcd mates 3c

i >

AMERICAN COMMEMORATiVES

^ :,J f ■

■ .< 'V. • .

; '‘ivr ^ '

■ 5 ';■■■

7' Mar*- -

- ^ A-.- ■;r- vr t>-. ,>^..''■.5

''r. 'r*;-i‘-vr
: i;x» :? :h.<}

, • : >.. '-n cJ

- -

■ - J r- . f

- -r '. f-'' ■

■ " ' ''■ ^r-av»-

. ! i-

• r‘v -•<■'

. -h,-

' T-,', = f

Tom Sawyer Panel — Ocfober 13, 1972

Stamp Panel Guessing Game

ONE of the lesser-known philatelic products of the U. S. Postal Service is the “stamp
panel” which features a block of a commemorative mounted on a descriptive
sheet embellished with vijjnettes from the archives of the American Hank Note
Company related to the subject of the stamp.

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

Collectors of obsolete paper money will recognize many of these vignettes as used
on bank notes. Essay-Proof Society photographer Adrien Boutrelle has made enlarge-
ments of various panels which will be reproduced here from time to time. Readers
are invited to list with the Editor the bank notes known with the vignettes so that
eventually a complete compilation can be made.

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

Paper Money Proof Material Sold at Stanley Gibbons
Auctions, Ltd,, London, June 24, 1974

ALL DESCRIPTIONS ARE FROM THE AUCTIONEER’S CATALOG

(Realizations in Pound Sterling)

(Concluded from Journai. No. 125, Page 30)

Price
Real-
Est. ized

COLOMBIA. Banco de Bogota, 100 pesos proof in black, Bogota, 187-.
Dated in pencil at bottom, November 1873, and with ‘Specimen’ overprint

in black. Small tear at left but GVF

COLOMBIA. Estado Soberano de Bolivar, 10 centavos proofs (2) in
green and orange. Both mounted on thick card and bearing ‘Specimen’

overprints in violet VF

ECUADOR, Banco Internacional, 1 sucre proof, in black, yellow and
orange, Guayaquil, 18 — . Mounted onto thick card. Attractive and
scarce VF

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE' BANKS).* ‘Beckett ’&'Co.',’ Leeds,
three proofs in black, each £5 denominations, and each accommodating
new members of the bank. One has the top left hand corner missing
and an edge tear at left. Also a proof in black of the reverse used, dated

in pencil 28th January ’86 F-GVF

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS). Beverley Bank, two
£5 proofs in black, 18 — , the former made up and both cut by the bank.
Also a proof of the reverse on thick card and dated in pencil January

1881. Signs of mounting but F

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS). Boroughbridge Bank
branch of the York City & County Banking Company Ltd., £5 proof in

black, 18 — , signature panel cut away by the bank F

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS). Boston Bank, four
proofs in black: £5, 186-, corner damage; £5, 186-, dated in pencil 17th
Dec. 1864; £10, 186-, dated in pencil July 16th 1867, thin patch on reverse
and £10, 188-, dated in pencil 19th Feb. ’87. The bottom of the latter has
been cut away by the bank. Some signs of previous mounting on the

reverse but F-G

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS). Bradford Old Bank,
£5 proof in black, 18 — , with pencil notes. Also a Bradford Banking
Company, £5 proof in black, 18 — . The former has a surface tear and

the latter has been cut by the bank but both F

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS). Bridgenorth Bank,
two £5 proofs in black, 18 — , one with signature panel cut away by the

bank. Signs of mounting on reverse, but VF

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS). Broseley Bank, £5
proof in black 18 — , ‘For G. Pritchard, J. Pritchard & W. Nicholas,
(Bottom right edge missing); a similar proof for £5 but ‘For G. Pritchard,
J. Pritchard, R. Boycott & W. Nicolas’ (bottom left corner missing) and
a £5 proof ‘For J. Pritchard, W. P. Gordon E. B. Potts & E. W. Shorting’,
18 — , signature panel cut away by the bank. All three bear pencil notes

and mount marks on the reverse but are F

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS). Goole Bank, branch
of the York City & County Banking Company, £5 proof in black, 18 — ,

pencil notes at bottom GF

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS). Herefordshire Bank.
£5 proof in black, 183-, with black ‘Specimen’ overprint at bottom, on
thick card. Also a £20 proof in black, on thick card, of the Hereford,
Ross & Archenfield Bank, 18 — , also with black ‘Specimen’ at bottom F
GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS). Lincoln and Lindsey
Banking Company, £10 proof in black, 18 — , with black ‘Specimen’ at
lower right. Edge tear at top and some toning but F

35 46

11 30

35 48

50 44

15 13

20 13

50 38

30 21

35 16

35 30

20 36

25 28

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS). Lincoln and Lindsey
Banking Company Limited, three proofs in black: £5 (2), 18 — , both with
portions cut away by the bank; and a £10, 18 — , with signature panel

cut out by the bank F

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS). Lincoln and Lindsey
Banking Company Limited, Gainsbro’ Branch, four proofs in black: £5,
‘Payable at Messrs. Prescott, Cave Foster, Buxton, Loder & Co.’; £10,
‘Payable at Messrs. Prescott, Grote, Cave, Foster & Co.’; £5, ‘Payable at
Messrs. Prescott, Dimsdale, Cave, Tugwell & Co. Limited’ and £10,
‘Payable at Messrs. Prescott, Dimsdale, Cave, Tugwell & Co. Limited’.
The former has an edge cut at lower left and all four have the upper and
lower borders partially cut away by the bank but are nevertheless F
GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS). Ludlow and Tenbury
Bank, £5 proof in black, 18 — and a similar proof, £5, 1st July 1872.

Pencil notes F-GF

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS) The National Provin-
cial Bank of Birmingham, £10, 183-, proof in black on thick card. Some

soiling F

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS). The National Provin-
cial Bank of England, £5 proof in black, 183-. Mount marks on reverse

and some soiling but F

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS). The National Provin-
cial Bank of England, £5 proof in black, 18 — , with black ‘Specimen’ at

bottom. Dated in pencil June 10th 1863 F

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS). Northamptonshire
Banking Company Limited, £5 proof in black, 18 — ; two different £10
proofs in black, 18 — , a proof for £20, 18 — . The two £10 proofs have had
the signature panel cut away by the bank and the £5 the bottom portion

F-GF

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS). Norwich & Norfolk
Bank, unsevered proof pair in black, £5 and £10, 18 — , with black ‘Speci-
men’ in lower right corners. Some soiling but F

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS). Scarborough Bank,
branch of the York City & County Banking Company, three different
£5 proofs in black. All bear pencil notes, are dated 18 — (2) or 186-,
and two have the signature panels cut away by the bank. Considerable

soiling on one F-GF

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS). Shrewsbury &
Welshpool Bank, four different £5 proofs in black, 18 — , each with pencil

notes. One has some soiling along the top but all are F-VF

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS). Swaledale & Wensley-
dale Banking Company, £5 proof in black on thick card, with black
‘Specimen’ lower right, 18 — . Also two £5 proofs in black, 18 — , with

portions cut away by the bank F

GREAT BRITAIN (ENGLISH PRIVATE BANKS) Swaledale & Wensley-
dale Banking Co., two £5 proofs in black, 18 — , cut by the bank but F

GREAT BRITAIN (GUERNSEY). The Guernsey Banking Company, £1
proof in black, dated Guernsey March 4th 1867. Printed by Perkins,

Bacon & Co., London. Beautiful piece GF

GREAT BRITAIN (IRELAND). The National Bank, four proofs in black:
£1, 1st January 1870 (‘Specimen’ overprint in black); £1, 1st July 1873,
(with ‘Specimen’ in black); £1, 1st April 1876 (pencil notes) and £1,
Ist January 1879 (bottom cut away by bank) F-VF

GREAT BRITAIN (IRELAND). The National Bank Limited, seven proofs
in black: £50, 25th October 1904; £100, 30th April 1907; ^5, 5th September
1912; £3, 3rd August 1912; £10, 10th April 1913; £1, 2nd November 1914;
and £20, 20th March 1915 All are on pink paper and have had the

bottoms cut away by the bank but are F-VF

GREAT BRITAIN (IRELAND). National Bank of Ireland, Bank of
Fermoy, five proofs in black: £1, £3, £5, £10 and £20, undated with ‘Speci-
men’ overprints in black Some edge damage to the £1 and £20 but all
are fine. Previous signs of mounting on the reverse F

GREAT BRITAIN (IRELAND). The Northern Banking Company LM.,
five proofs in black: £10, 18 — ; £20, 18 — , (right panel cut away by the
bank), hole cancelled; £1, 1st January 1898 (on thick card and hole can-
celled); £5, 1st September 1908 (on thick card and hole cancelled); and
£1, 1st July 1911 (on thick card and hole cancelled). Previous signs
of mounting but F-VF

120

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

GREAT BRITAIN (IRELAND). Provincial Bank of Ireland, four proofs
in black: £5, dated 5th November 1870; £10, 10th October 1878; £1, 1st
December 1881 and £3, 3rd December 1881. The latter three have had
the signature panels cut away by the bank and all four have signs of

previous mount marks on the reverse but are all F-GF 45 44

GREAT BRITAIN (IRELAND). Provincial Bank of Ireland, three proofs
in black; £1, 1st August 1882; £5, 5th November 1884 (mounted on thick
card and hole cancelled); and £10, 10th August 1886 (bottom cut away
by the bank). The £1 has had the signature panel cut away by the bank

and all three show signs of previous mounting but are GF-VF 40 42

GREAT BRITAIN (IRELAND). Provincial Bank of Ireland Ltd., four
proofs in black: £1, 2nd November 1903, mounted on thick card and
hole cancelled; £3, 3rd May 1905, on pink tinted paper and with the
bottom cut away by the bank; £5, 5th May 1906, mounted on thick card
and hole cancelled (some soiling) and £10, 10th October 1913, on pink
tinted paper and with bottom cut away iDy the bank All four show

signs of previous mounting but are F 50 52

IRELAND. Provincial Bank of Ireland Ltd, proof in black, dated 1st

January 1917, for £1. Some edge tears but a fine piece F 45 32

GREAT BRITAIN (Northern Ireland). Northern Banking Company,
proof in black for £1, Belfast, 18 — , with ‘Specimen’ handstamp in black

at lower right. Pencil note at bottom right. Circa. 1866 good VF 70 56

GREAT BRITAIN (SCOTLAND). The British Linen Company, £5, £10,
and £20 proofs in black, dated in pencil February 1872. Also a proof in
black of the reverse used, on thick card and dated October 1872. The £5

has the bottom left corner missing but all four proofs are F-GF 30 54

GREAT BRITAIN (SCOTLAND). The British Linen Company, £5, proof
in blue, 2nd April 1874; £20 in blue, 2nd April 1875 and £100, 1st July

1874. Each bears pencil notes F-GF 85 85

GREAT BRITAIN (SCOTLAND). The British Linen Company, £1 proof
in black, dated 23rd Jany. 1900, bottom cut away by the bank; and a £1
proof in black on thick card and hole cancelled, dated 1st December 1903

F-GF 45 48

GREAT BRITAIN (SCOTLAND). The British Linen Company, four
proofs in black: £1, 23rd January 1900; £5, 24th July 1903; £10, 2nd
September 1901 and £20, 6th March 1902. All bear pencil notes and have

been cut at the bottom by the bank but are F-GF 45 46

GREAT BRITAIN (SCOTLAND). The Dundee Union Bank, £5 proof in
black, mounted on thick card, 183-, with black ‘Specimen’ overprint lower
centre. Attractive but some soiling and edge damage at left and right.

about F 25 22

GREAT BRITAIN (SCOTLAND). The National Bank of Scotland, four
proofs in black: £1, dated in pencil 17th Jany. ’63; £1, similar to before
but with printed date 11th Nov. 1876, hole cancelled; a £5 proof in
black, 18 — , with signature panel cut out by the bank, and a £10, undated,

also with signature panel cut out F-VF 70 52

GREAT BRITAIN (SCOTLAND). The National Bank of Scotland Limited,
three £1 proofs in black: £1, 15th May 1884, on thick card and hole can-
celled; one similar to before but dated 11th November 1886 (corner
crease) and the third dated 16th May 1887, small tear at top F-VF .... 100 74

GREAT BRITAIN (SCOTLAND). The North of Scotland Banking Com-
pany, £1 proof in black, mounted on thick card and dated 1st October
1864, with ‘Specimen’ overprint in black at lower right. Some soiling,
and surface damage at upper centre. Also a £1 proof in black, dated 7th

Nov. 1872. Small tear and thin lower right F 30 30

GREAT BRITAIN (SCOTLAND). The Town and County Bank Limited,
four proofs in black: £5, 15th April 1901; £1, £20 and £100, 15th April

1902. All four have the bottoms cut off by the bank F 20 26

GREAT BRITAIN (WALES). North & South Wales Bank Ltd., Proof £5,

printed in black on thick paper, 190-. Cut along bottom F 30 20

INDIA. Bank of Bombay, proof in black, Rs.lO, Bombay, 18 — , with
pencil notes at bottom. Slight mount marks on reverse and some soiling
but attractive and F 60 40

IONIAN ISLANDS. Ionian Bank, 10 shillings proof in black, Cephalonia,

184-, with two ‘Specimen’ overprints in black. Top left corner missing

and small tear at left but F 120 125

IONIAN ISLANDS. Ionian Bank, $5 proof in black, 186-, dated in pencil

May 26th ’60 on thick card. Signs of mounting on reverse but GF 120 130

The l^ssay-Proof Journal No. 126

IONIAN ISLANDS. Ionian Bank Limited, unsevered proof pair in black,
10 Drachme, 18 — , pencil dated 26th February 1883. The signature panels
have been cut away by the bank. Slight signs of previous mounting on

the reverse but VF

Similar to previous lot, undated VF

IONIAN ISLANDS. Ionian Bank Limited, 100 Drachme proof in black,
dated January 14th 1901 in pencil. Printed by Perkins, Bacon & Co. Ltd.,
London. Mount marks on reverse, part of the bottom decorative border

has been cut away but altogether GF

NEW ZEALAND The Bank of Australasia, four proofs in black; £50,
Auckland, dated in pencil 20th July ’75; £50, Wellington, 17th October
1888; £50, Christchurch, 18th April 1898 and £50, Dunedin, 17th April 1906
(Pink tinted paper). The former has edge tears and thins on the reverse
and the latter three have the bottoms cut away. All four have signs of

previous mounting on the reverse but are F-VF

NEW ZEALAND. The National Bank of New Zealand limited, proof
£1, £5 and £50, Wellington, 18 — and £10 and £20, Wellington, 19 — .
Also £20, Wellington, 1st January 1912 and £50, 19 — , both on pink tinted
paper. All notes have part of bottom cut away and show slight signs of

previous mounting on reverse but are VF

NEW ZEALAND. The National Bank of New Zealand Limited, £10 proof
in red-brown, undated; £20 in blue-green, dated in pencil Dec. 21st 1872,
and £50 in plum, dated in pencil 23rd January ’73. All three are
Wellington proofs and bear mount marks on the reverse, but are all GF
NEW ZEALAND. Bank of New South Wales, £1 proof in black, 18 — ,
with black ‘Specimen’ overprint at bottom, on thick card. Also a £10
proof, same bank, 18 — . Printed by Perkins, Bacon & Co. Ltd., London,
the two proofs bear pencil notes and have mount marks on the reverse

but are nevertheless F & VF

NEW ZEALAND. Bank of New South Wales, £10 and £20 proofs in black,
both with ‘Specimen’ overprints in black at lower right. Both 18 — , the
£10 is dated at Nelson and the £20 at Dunedin. The latter bears some

signs of previous mounting but both are GF

SPAIN. Banco de Zaragoza, 100 Reales proof in black on buff. No. 23124,

dated 14 de Mayo de 1857. Serie A. Counterfoil at left EF

SPAIN. Banco de Zaragoza, 200 Reales proof in black on blue. No. 11033,

dated 14 de Mayo de 1857. Serie A. Counterfoil at left EF

TASMANIA (VAN DIEMEN’S LAND). The Bank of Australasia, Hobart,
Town, £1, 15th September 1863, proof in black. Pencil notes at bottom.
Small adherence to face and signs of previous mounting on reverse but

nearly VF

TASMANIA (VAN DIEMEN’S LAND). The Bank of Australasia, Hobart
Town, £5, 15th May 1866, proof in black. Pencil notes at bottom. Small

traces of previous hingeing on reverse but GF

TASMANIA (VAN DIEMEN’S LAND). The Bank of Australasia, Hobart
four proofs in black; £5, 1st January 1881; £10, 13th September 1888;
£1, 1st July 1891 and £50, 17th April 1893 All bear pencil notes and each
is cut off at bottom. Slight signs of previous hingeing on reverse but

GF-VF ^

TASMANIA (VAN DIEMEN’S LAND). The Bank of Australasia, Hobart,
four proofs in black: £50, 17th April 1891; £5, 5th August 1893; £10, 13th
March 1901 and £1, 1st January 1903. All bear pencil notes. Each has part
of note cut off at bottom. Small signs of previous reverse mounting other-
wise GF

TASMANIA. Bank of Tasmania, Launceston, proof in black for £5, 18 — .
Mounted on thick card and cancelled with three holes. Small tear at top

and mount marks on reverse but VF

TASMANIA. Commercial Bank, Hobart Town, three proofs in black: £1,
£5 and £10 1st January 18 — . The £1 and £10 have small thins and the
former has a small tear at the bottom. All three have signs of previous

mounting on the reverse, but F-VF

TASMANIA. The Commercial Bank of Tasmania Limited, two proofs in
black for £10 and £20, Hobart, 1st January 18 — . Pencil notes, with the
signature blanks cut away by the bank. Signs of previous mounting on

reverse but VF

TASMANIA AND NEW SOUTH WALES. Union Bank of Australia. £1
proof in black, Launceston, 18 — and £5 proof in black, Sydney, 18 — ,
both with ‘Specimen’ overprints (in black) at bottom and pencil notes.

180 145

180 135

100 135

80 no

80 120

180 230

70 120

70 110

100 75

no 75

40 40

35 42

30 34

50 62

70 82

120 130

50 42

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

The former is on thick card and has small signs of previous mounting

on reverse and the latter has a small tear upper right, but F 80 85

TRINIDAD. Colonial Bank, proof $5 in black. Port of Spain, dated in
pencil August 25th 1904 and hole cancelled. Also a similar proof, but in
milky blue and orange (underprint) and with perforated ‘Cancelled’ and
‘Specimen’, undated. The reverse is also printed and although showing

some signs of rust is otherwise fine F 120 260

VICTORIA. The Bank of Victoria, Melbourne, 3il proof in black on thick
card, 18 — , ‘Specimen’ overprint in black at bottom. Small tear at top and
previous signs of mounting on reverse but F 100 65

Specimen and Die Proofs

AUSTRALIA. Proof in black on thick card, engraved by John Carmi-
chael, Sydney, for John Barnett, Wine aind Spirit Merchant GF 15 13

AUSTRIA. Two Austrian lithographed trials, approx. 6V2"x2%". One in
blue with brown underprint, the other in brown with blue underprint

nearly EF 16 12

CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA. Die proof in black of a vignette
of an American sailor, as used on the $20 note of the Citizen’s Bank of
Louisiana (at Shreveport). Also an uncut sheet of four of the note.

Interesting item, good F 28 22

GREECE. Die proof of the Greek Arms, as used on the National Bank of

Greece issues 1922-7. Small rust signs but scarce nearly VF 20 20

Proof in black, on card, of a classical female figure with ears of corn

and scythe, good F 20 15

Engine-turned design in black with large white ‘5’ in central vignette.

Engraved by Perkins, Bacon & Petch, London GVF 15 20

1370

1371

1372

1373

1374

1375

1381

1382

1383

1384

1385

1386

1387

1388

1316

1376

Secretary’s Report

By Kenneth Minuse, Secretary
1236 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10456

Members Admitted

Knapp, Steven
Lisot, O. L.

Von Hake, Joseph
Mackal, Roy P.
Nathan, Davis A.
Detjen, Gustav

1376 Gish, Charles N.

1377 Berlin, Dr. Steven J.

1378 McCellen, Robert G.

1379 Kern, James

1380 Hayes, Harry

Applications Received

Seastedt, Norman C., 1972 Everett Street, ■\"alley Stream, NY 11580 (U. S. & B. N. A. proofs
& Sweden), by Dr. Glenn E. Jackson

Horstman, Ronald, 6137 Victoria, St. Louis, MO 63139 (St. Louis currency), by Barbara
Mueller

Vacca, Dr. Joseph B., 1489 Minmar Drive, St. Louis, MO 63122 (Mo. Bank Notes), by
Barbara Mueller

Kranz, John F., Route 2, Box 429A, Chico, CA 959^6 (Essays & proofs, U. S. coins &
stamps), by Kenneth Alinuse

Black, T. Wayne, 425 Allen Street, Apt. 301, Waterloo, Iowa 50701 (LL S. &: British
Comm.), by Kenneth Trettin

Richman, Russell, 704 Gibraltar Ave., Englewood, OH 45322 (Essays, proofs classics),
by Kenneth Minuse

Fox, \'incent S., 85 Princeton Street, Garden City, NY 1153^’ (b. S.), by R. G. Taylor

Brahin, Dr. Bernet i\L, Professional Bldg., Parlin, NJ 08859 (LL S. plates & proofs), by
Falk Finkelburg

Change of Address

Simmonds, W. E., to P. O. Box 94, Addison, 111. 6010 1
Gish, Charles, to 1414 West 118 Street, Jenks, Okla. 74037

Total IMembership

Non-Member Subscribers

.388
- 30

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

Waterlow Sample Stamps

By Marcus Samuel

(Continued from Journal No. 124, Page 169)

Note: The illustrations show some listed items with overprints which are not included in the listing.
This is because the listing is restricted to items in the 1968 “find,” but the opportunity has been
taken to illustrate some with the rare overprint type 2 which were probably circulated as samples
much earlier.

Costa Rica

1889 1901 1902

Costa Rica

Postage Stamps

/88q Soto Portrait

IC.

Green

—

Ditto

3x3

IC.

Black

—

2C.

Chestnut

—

206

—

Ditto

3x3

2C.

Black

—

5c.

Blue

—

207

—

Ditto

3x3

5--

Black

—

IOC.

Orange

—

208

—

Ditto

3x3

IOC.

Black

—

20C.

Purple

—

209

—

Ditto

3x3

20C.

Black

—

50C.

Scarlet vermilion

—

210

—

Ditto

3x3

50c.

Black

—

ip.

Black

—

21 I

—

Ditto

3x3

2p.

Bistre

—

212

—

Ditto

3x3

2p.

Black

—

5P-

Blue-green

—

213

—

Ditto

3x3

5P-

Black

—

lop.

Lake

—

214

—

Ditto

3x3

lop.

Black

—

i8Q2 Arms

IC.

Plum

—

358

—

Ditto

3x3

IC.

Black

—

2C.

Cobalt

—

359

—

Ditto

3x3

2C.

Black

—

■>

—

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

5c-

Blue

—

360

—

Ditto

3x3

5c.

Black

—

IOC.

Magenta

—

361

—

Ditto

3 X 3

IOC,

Black

—

20c.

Blue-green

—

362

—

Ditto

3x3

20c.

Black

—

50 c.

Bistre

—

363

—

Ditto

3x3

50C.

Black

—

ip.

Scarlet-vermilion

—

364

—

Ditto '

3x3

c ^

ip.

Black

—

2p.

l^ale blue-green

—

363

—

Ditto

3x3

2p.

Black

—

sp.

Yellow

—

366

—

Ditto

3x3

sp-

Black

—

lop.

Blue-green

—

367

—

Ditto

3x3

I op.

Black

—

[

Costa Rica 1901

/goi

IC.

Black

and vermilion —

213

—

Ditto

3x3

Ditto

2C.

Black

and green —

216

Ditto

3x3

sc.

Black

and olive —

217

—

Ditto

3x3

1 oc.

Black

and rose —

218

—

Ditto

3x3

20c.

Black

and purple —

219

—

Ditto

3x3

30c.

Black

and blue —

220

—

Ditto

3x3

I col.

Black

and grey-blue —

22 1

—

Ditto

3x3

Ditto

2 col.

Black

and chocolate —

222

Ditto

3x3

3 col.

Black

and lake —

223

—

Ditto

3x3

10 col.

Black

and mustard —

224

—

Ditto

3x3

1903 4c,

Black

and blue-green —

692

—

Ditto

3x3

Ditto, 6c.

Black

and brown —

693

—

Ditto

3 X 3

Tile Essay-l^roof Journal No. 126

Costa Rica 1926

Costa Rica 1938

Ditto, 2 sc.

Ditto

lyos Postage Due 20c.
Ditto

ic)Z4 small 2c.

Ditto

1926 Aircraft 20c.
Ditto

Ditto, 20c.

Ditto

Ditto, 20c.

1926-27 Buildings 3c.

Ditto

Ditto, 6c.

Ditto

Ditto, 30c.

Ditto

Ditto, 45c.

Ditto

Ditto, 45c.

Ditto

1926 Official I col.
Ditto

1930 ic.

Ditto
Ditto, sc.

Ditto

Ditto, IOC.

Ditto

1931 Statue of Mora,
Ditto

1934 small 3c.

Ditto

193 s Tercentenary Sc.
Ditto

Ditto, IOC.

Ditto

Ditto,

Ditto

1938

Ditto

45c.

Exhibition

Ditto, 3c.

Ditto

1941 small 3c.
Ditto

IC.

13c.

1946
Ditto
Ditto

1947

Ditto

Air, Red Cross

Air, Columbus

I col.

2 sc.

Black and lilac
Black and vermilion
Carmine
Yellow-preen
Blue and ejreen

Carmine

Lake

Sage-green
Deep olive
Sepia

Black and green

Deep brown

Purple

Emerald

Indigo

Brown

Sepia

Purple

Deep green

Carmine and green

Red -brown
Red-orange Thiel
Red and sepia

Black and maroon

—

694

—

3x3

—

3 3

—

1 127

—

1 248

—

1333

—

D/P

—

D/P?

1 40 s

—

1283

—

1284

—

128 s

I a

—

1286

—

1287

—

1290

—

1335

—

1336

—

1337

—

1476

—

1579

—

1645

—

1646

—

1647

—

1843

—

1 842

—

3043

—

2»73

—

3016

—

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

Costa Rica 1946-48

1948 Air, Theatre 2 col.

Black and purple

—

3042

—

Ditto

Ditto, Yglesias lo col.

Black and purple

—

3040

—

Ditto

1950 Air, Liberation 15c.

Mauve and black

—

3127

Ditto, 35c.

Pink and indigo

—

3129

Ditto, 55c.

Blue and carmine

—

3128

Ditto, 80c.

Chestnut and

emerald

—

3133

1950 Air, Fair loc.

Slate and indigo

—

3130

Ditto, 30C.

Turquoise and

carmine

—

3131

Ditto, 65c.

Green and black

—

3132

Ditto, 10 col.

Sepia and blue-green

—

3134

1959 Air, Viquez-Oreamundo 15c.

Black and rose

—

3319

Ditto, 20c.

Blue and green

—

3320

Ditto, 35c.

Olive and dull red

—

3318

Ditto, I col.

Brown and slate

—

3321

Ditto, 2 col.

Black and purple

—

3322

Telegraph Stamps

C. 1925 5c.

Olive, Railway

—

1312

—

Ditto

Revenue Stamps

C. 1895, Timbre 2c.

Black

—

Ditto, 2c.

Brown

—

898

—

Ditto, composite sheet.

IC.+2C.+4C.+5C.

Ditto, 20c.

Deep olive-brown

—

1140

—

Ditto, composite sheet.

1 0C.+20C.+40C.+50C.

Ditto, ip.

Black

—

Ditto, 4p.

Green

—

546

—

Ditto, composite sheet.

ip.+2p.+4p.+5p.

Green

Ditto

Ditto, lop.

Lake

—

545?

—

Ditto, composite sheet,

iop.+2op.+5op.+ ioop.

C. 1945, Timbre Forense 25c.

Brown

2072

—

Ditto

C. 1947, Timbre Consular, 10 dol.

Brov\n and purple

—

3041

—

Ditto

Cuba

Postage Stamps

1933 War of Independence 3c.

Chocolate (as issued)

1537

—

Ditto, 3c.

Ultramarine

1538

—

Ditto IOC.

Emerald

1339

—

Ditto, 13c.

Scarlet

1540

—

1936 -Mantanzas ic.

Purple —

1697

—

Ditto

Ditto. 2c.

Green —

1698

—

1 he l^ssay-Proof Journal No. 126

asm

^ C6RRE0 AERCO

ZONA FRANCA DEL
PUERTO DE NATANZAS

.ig,Novr<>r«

REPUBUCA DE CUBA

Cuba 1936

Cuba 1948

REPUBLICn DECUBQ

RiMOICldM Of LAStli* g t

CA/^St*.MtCA
CAMfWIf
m/ftmiH tn ^

JO^kWfkhBiAMCA

C4M9fQH

Bf Ajfmi

REPUBUCA DE CUBA

REPUBUCA PE CUBA

C t^lKHSa ISPtCiAl

Cuba 1951

25c at right is an essay

Ditto

Ditto, 4c.

Ma.eenta

—

1699

—

Ditto

Ditto, >c.

Greenish black

—

1700

—

Ditto

Ditto 8c.

Blue

—

1701

—

Ditto

Ditto, IOC.

Chestnut

—

1702

—

Ditto

Ditto, 20c.

Grey-black

—

1703

—

Ditto

Ditto. >oc.

Deep Green

—

1704

—

Ditto

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

Ditto,

Air 5c.

Sepia

—

1 70 s

—

Ditto

Ditto,

Air IOC.

Ultramarine

—

1 706

—

Ditto

Ditto,

Air 20C.

Scarlet

—

1707

—

Ditto

Ditto,

Special Delivery loc.

Bright purple

—

1708

—

Ditto

Ditto,

Air, Special Delivery 15c.

Olive

—

1709

—

Ditto

Ditto,

Air 50C.

Sepia

—

1710

—

Ditto

1936

Gomez ic.

Orange

—

1713

—

Ditto

^-.4

Ditto,

2C.

Deep red-brown

—

Ditto

Ditto,

4C.

Mauve

—

1713

—

Ditto

Ditto,

5c.

Scarlet

—

1717

—

Ditto

Ditto,

8c.

Blue

—

1716

—

Ditto

Ditto,

IOC.

Blue-green

—

1720

—

Ditto

Ditto,

Air 5c.

Slate

—

1718

—

Ditto

Ditto,

Air IOC.

Crimson

—

1719

—

Ditto

1948

Air, War Conference 8c.

Black and green

—

3067

—

Ditto

—

Ditto

1948

Maceo ic.

Carmine

—

3065

—

Ditto

—

Ditto

Ditto,

2C.

Chestnut

—

3063

—

Ditto

—

Ditto

Ditto,

5c.

Brown

—

3066

—

Ditto

—

Ditto

1948

Alorro Castle 2c.

Deep violet

—

3064

—

Ditto

—

Ditto

1951

Flag Centenary ic.

Indigo and red

—

3162

Ditto,

2C.

Black and

violet-blue

—

3163

Ditto,

5C.

Carmine and indigo

—

3164

Ditto,

I oc.

Green, red and blue

—

3167

Ditto,

Special Delivery loc.

Olive, red and blue

—

3169

Ditto,

Air 5c.

Blue and vermilion

—

3166

Ditto,

Air 8c.

Black, red and blue

—

3163

Ditto,

Air 2^c.

Carmine and blue

—

3168

1951

Chess IC.

Greenish black and

magenta

—

3188

Ditto,

2C.

Brown and olive

—

3186

Ditto,

5c.

Chestnut and

yellow-green

—

3183

Ditto,

Special Delivery loc.

Chestnut and black

—

3183

Ditto,

Air >c.

Brown-red and sepia

—

3184

Ditto,

Air 8c.

Sepia and

grey-green

—

3187

Ditto,

Air 25c.

Slate and purple.

Capablanca essay

—

3182

1932

Coffee IC.

Grey

—

3206

Ditto,

2C.

Indigo

—

3207

Ditto,

3c.

Blue and carmine

—

3208

(To be continued)

The J\ssay-Proof Journal No. 126

9‘

Report of Ametioe Sales of
Essays and Proofs

Auctioneers desiring their sales reported should send prices realized to:

Kenneth Minuse, 1236 Grand Concourse, New York, NY 10456 for sales of
British North America essays and proofs.

Falk Finkelburg, P. O. Box 237, Coram, NY 11727 for sales of United States
essays and proofs.

When sales are not reported, no prices realized were received or items were
imperfect or not important.

Auction catalogs should illustrate all essays not illustrated in standard catalogs.
The essay and proof numbers are Scott’s stamp numbers with E.P.S. catalog ab-
breviations. See E. P. S. Catalog definitions in every Journal Catalog. U. S. essay
numbers are from Brazer’s Catalog of Essays for U. S. Stamps and its addenda.

ALL DESCRIPTIONS ARE FROM THE AUCTIONEER’S CATALOGS.

Robert A. Siegel, New York, NY. Sale of Oct. 22-24, 1974

1861 Issue

3c Brown Red, Imperforate Essay on Bluish Paper (Brazer

65TC-A var.). Top Sheet Margin, gummed. Not listed, very

scarce. Very Fine E. IV 30.00

3c Brown Rose Perforated Essay, Sensitive Ink (Brazer 65TC-

Ca.). Gummed, Very Fine & scarce E. Ill 28.00

3c Brown on Salmon Tinted Paper Essay (Brazer 65TC-Cc).

Perforated and Gummed, o.g.. Very Fine for the issue E. Ill 28.00

10c Dark Green, “Specimen” Overprint (68SB). Block, Fresh,
o.g., beautiful Color, small hinge reinforcement. Fine, very

scarce in a block 60.00-1- 85.00

90c Blue, “Specimen” Overprint (72SB). Horiz. Strip of Four
with B. Margin, Part Imprint & Plate No. 18, Fresh o.g.. Very
Fine, handsome & very scarce 60.00-1- 260.00

Bank Note Issues

3c Black, Die Essay, Continental Bank Note Co. (Brazer 147E-
Aa). Die Sunk on 6"x9y2" Card, rather gaudy large numeral
“3” with small Lincoln vignette, “Emancipation, Proclama-
tion” Imprints etc., blue double oval handstamp, “Continental
Bank Note Co, New York, Dec. 30, 1869”, trivial toned specks

extreme edges of card. Very Fine, rare

24c Dark Red Violet, Die Essay on India (Brazer 153E-Cb). Die
Sunk on Card, reduced to stamp size as always. Very Fine &

rare

Ic Ultramarine, Large Die Proof (156P). Signed “A, W. Cun-
ningham” the Engraver of the Frame, additional notation
below “secret marks put on by Chas. Skinner”. Die Sunk on
41/2 "x5%" Card, Very Fine, ex Caspary, Lilly; Stated to be a
“Unique item of great philatelic value” in the Caspary Sale
2c Scarlet on Pale Lilac, Laid Paper, Experimental Essay

(Brazer 178P). Fresh, o.g.. Very Fine

15c Blue, “Sample A” Overprint (189SL). Horiz. Strip of Five
with Part B. Imprint & Plate No. Margin, Well Centered,
Fresh, o.g., tiny trivial thin specks right pair, otherwise Very

Fine scarce

Ic-lOc 1881-83 Bank Notes, Plate Proofs on Card (205P-211P).

Very Fine

Lincoln Vignette, Beardless Engraved Profile, Brown on Ivory
(Brazer 206E-Bb var.). Very Fine, this type described in
Brazer as Typographed, Dull Carmine on Ivory, undoubtedly
very scarce

E. VHI

E. VI

450.00 +
E. IV

75.00 +
38.50

E. VH

210.00

85.00

425.00

32.50

100.00

42.50

220.00

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

H. R. Harmer, Inc., New York, N.Y. Sale of Nov. 7-8, 1974

General Issues
1847

5c black, trial color on wove paper, with cross hatching, ex-
tremely fine (ITC)

5c red brown, die proof on yellowish wove paper, with cross

hatching, extremely fine (ITCe)

10c black, die proof on yellow bond paper, with cross hatch-
ing, extremely fine (2Pb)

1875 Reproduction of 1847

10c “Atlanta” set of 5 diff. trial color plate proofs on thin
card, fine to very fine (3TC)

1875 Reprints of 1857-60

Ic to 90c, “Atlanta” trial color plate proofs on thin card, compl.
set of 8 values in blue, fine to very fine (40-47TC)

1861

90c blue, large die proof on India, mounted on card, very fine

(72P1)

Ic to 90c, “Atlanta” trial color plate proofs on thin card, compl.
set in scarlet, fine to very fine (102-llTC)

1869 Pictorials
Essays

24c black, plate essay on salmon tinted paper, very fine

(Br. 120E-Cd)

30c orange, die essay on proof paper (Br. 121E-Ce)

Plate Proofs
On card

Ic to 90c, compl. set, very fine (112-22P4)

A very similar lot

Inverted Centers

15c, 24c, 30c, 90c THE COMPLETE SET OF FOUR INVERTS,

extremely fine (120a-22a, 129P4)

30c blue & carmine, FLAGS INVERTED, marginal blk of 4 both
numbers, thin in margin only, stamps very fine (121aP4)

1890-93 Issue
Plate Proofs On India

5c chocolate, top plate blk of 12, number at right, very fine

(223P3)

Same, matching number at right (223P3)

Plate Proofs On Card

Ic ultramarine, vert, blk of 12, with imprint at right, very fine

(219P4)

1894

Large Die Proofs
Die Sunk On India Paper

Full size unless otherwise mentioned.

3c violet, type I, extremely fine (253P1)

10c green (118x155mm), extremely fine (258P1)

185.00 +

195.00 +

160.00 +

440.00 +

170.00 +

130.00 +

181.00 +

167.50 +

3200.00 +

3500.00 +

300.00 +
300.00 +

75.00 +

40.00 +

160.00

190.00

400.00

210.00

160.00

230.00

90.00

105.00

230.00

3800.00

3600.00

300.00

105.00

75.00

45.00

T}ic Mssay-lVoof Journal No. 126

1898 Change of Color

Ic green, large die proof on India paper (64x64mm), very fine

(279P1)

Ic, 5c, 10c, 15c, small die proofs, with gray card backing (1904
ptg.), set as issued (279 — 84P2)

1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition Issue

Essays

Ic to $2, compl. set of bi-colored die essays, die sunk on card
approx. (77x64mm), 2c, $2, transposed centers, very fine,
colorful and rare. Est. Cash Val. $750 . . .(Brazer 285EE, etc.)

1902-03 Regular Issue

Ic to $5, compl. set of small die proofs with gray card backing
(1904 ptg.), very fine (300-73P2)

1912-13 Panama-Pacific Exposition Issue
Large Die Proofs

Die sunk on India paper on card 204x153mm.

10c orange, size approx. 196/148mm, interleaving protecting
stamp, signed by Postmaster General A. S. Burleson in mar-
gin, approved April 1913, brilliant color, a great rarity (400A)

1924 Huguenot-Walloon

Ic, 2c, 5c, compl. set, SMALL DIE PROOFS (41x24mm), ex-
tremely fine, rare (614-16P2)

1924 Lexington-Concord

Ic, 2c, 5c, compl. set, SMALL DIE PROOFS (43x25mm), ex-
tremely fine, rare (617-19P2)

165.00+ 300.00

140.00+ 130.00

900.00

595.00+ 550.00

475.00+ 475.00

975.00+ 1100.00

975.00+ 727.00

(Several lots of John Hay material see EPJ No. 125, p. 3 were included in the
R. A. Siegel Auction Galleries sale of Nov. 19-22, 1974. The auctioneer’s descrip-
tions of those identifiable are as follows:)

United Nations

1951, Essay For U.N. Emblem, Global design in laurel wreath,
printed on 2%x2%" card. Imprint of American Bank Note
Co., Die No. “Special V-88210” all on small buff card, Very
Fine & rare

210.00

1952, 7c Air Post, Deep Bluish Purple (UC3P). Heavily inked,
sharp impression on white paper. 3%xl%", thin in selvedge
only, stamp Very Fine, rare

220.00

1959, 7c Blue, Air Post (UC3P). Finished proof, fine impression on
5%x3V2" card. Very Fine

210.00

1959, 7c Air Post, surface printed essays in red & black (UC3E).
Each with “Specimen” in bottom panel. White paper, cut
to stamp size, the “Black” is affixed to small piece of bond
paper. Not signed. Very Fine

E. VIII

170.00

Canada

1949, 5c Black, Die Essay (288E). Stamp size on proof paper,
“1949” at R. B. of portrait, mounted on l%xl%" proof paper,
together with photo from which the design was developed.
Very Fine

E. VIII

160.00

1949, 5c Black, Die Essay (288E). Similar to preceding lot with
“1949” on portrait, on proof paper, card mounted 2y2x2y2",
penciled “35, 50/35” next to autograph. Very Fine

E. VIII

140.00

Tlie Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

1949, 5c Dark Blue, Large Die Proof (288P). On proof paper,

card mounted, 2y2x2y2", Very Fine E. VIII 170.00

1952, 7c Canada Goose (320E, P). A matchless specialized study of
the development of the design inch Embossed Albino, with &
without “Canada”, with extraneous letters in background.

Eight pieces, inch the albino, one on card in black, all others
in blue, five embossed, others typographed. All Very Fine
and of utmost rarity. Some probably unique E. XIII 850.00

Costa Rica

1967, 5c-10col Churches, Air Post (C458P-C471P). Large Die
Proofs on glazed proof paper, 20 var. each with Die Number
& autographed in reverse by the Engraver J. Hay, size ap-
prox. 21/2x8", Very Fine ! E. IX 375.00

Venezuela

1947-51, Collection of 14 difp. essays &i proofs, inch progress
proofs, (6) Commemoratives, Air Post & Social Security. All
large die proofs, all but one die sunk, all autographs in re-
verse. Very Fine lot with some unique items E. X 220.00

Essays

Throughout the foreign section there are a number of lots of essays and proofs,
all designed and engraved by John Hay who has autographed nearly every one
of them, some in reverse, as an engraver always works on the dies “in reverse”.

All of these are very scarce and some are unique. This applies particularly
to the developmental pieces of United Nations and Canada.

The first two lots, as listed below, are demonstrations of a three color intaglio
process developed by Mr. Hay.

Others will be found in their proper places in the countries involved.

A Specialized Study of development of a three-color Solenoid
continuous method of Intaglio Printing. Three items with
seven impressions; Portrait of Pope Pius XH, similar to
Vatican City, Scott #94. Three vertical strips, two partial &
complete impressions in brown & gray, other with four im-
pressions, three progressive & one in full color, inscribed
“Specimen”. First two on bond paper. Complete strip on

laid paper. Unsigned, Very Fine & rare E. VH 100.00

Another Specialized Study of the three-color Solenoid continu-
ous method. Two vertical strips of four, design of a church;
progressive impressions in blue, progressive impressions in
orange, green & blue & finally a complete multicolor picture.

Couple of minor creases, A handsome & rare Study E. VH 47.50

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S YEAR STAMPS BY WOMEN DESIGNERS

Many countries issuing special stamps to mark International Women’s Year 1975
chose women designers to create them. Among the first to do so;

Sweden — 75 ore — male and female hard-hatted building engineers; engraved by
Majvor Franzen-Matthews from a photograph by Georg Sessler. (The i kr. shows
singer Jenny Lind but was engraved by the male artist Czeslaw Slania.)

Australia — 10c — national symbol of IWY; designed by Leonora Howlett of Sydney,
who also designed the symbol itself.

Ireland — 1 5P — a symbolic dove with olive branch returning to a pair of hands;
designed by Alexandra Wejchert.

riie J'!ssay-Proof journal No. 126

A RARE OPPORTUNITY FOR
ESSAY PROOF COLLECTORS!

HUNDREDS OF ITEMS ASSEMBLED BY

JOHN HAY

BANK NOTE ENGRAVER, ARTIST, AND AUTHOR

READ THE STORY OF JOHN HAY BY DR. GLENN E. JACKSON

IN ESSAY-PROOF JOURNAL

Many collecf'or ifems never previously offered including vignettes,
progressive and finished proofs, comprising over 60 lots will be
listed in the Illustrated Catalog.

DONLON’S MAIL BID SALE JUNE 5

FEATURING U. S. PAPER MONEY AND RELATED ITEMS.

Order your catalog. $2.50 defrays part of the cost! Send check or phone
your catalog order, to be sent open account. Time is running out! Order
today! List of Prices Realized will follow after the sale to catalog holders.

Please note. This material should be seen to be appreciated. It will be
available for your inspection by appointment only. Phone or write for ap-
pointment and office location. We have no store or shop. Phone
315-735-2525.

WILLIAM P. DONLON

P. O. BOX 144. UTICA, N. Y. 1.T.30.S

Member: E.P.S., S.P.M.C., A.N.A., P.N.C. et al.

The Essay-Proof Journal No. 126

BRITISH EMPIRE

SPECIMEN STAMPS

My list of these scarce and interesting stamps is now available.
Includes over 100 sets and singles, even South Africa #1, one of
the rarest specimens listed by Gibbons. Send 20c in mint U.S.
for postage.

Great Britain Essays

In April, 1879, the Board of Inland Revenue invited seven print-
ers to submit essays and bids for printing postage stamps. Perkins,
Bacon submitted a total of eleven designs. Six were of the Id,
three of the 2d and one each of the V2d and 1 /4d. This unusual
full sheet of 41, in emerald green and imperforate, shows all of
the designs. A rare and beautiful showpiece. Minor creases do
not detract. $250.00. Cash with order.

ESTANCIA COMPANY

P. O. BOX 94. ADDISON, ILL. 60101

Hawaii
Portugal &
Colonies

In our extensive stocks are:

1 . A magnificenl group of essays
and proofs of both postage and
revenue stamps of Hawaii.

2. A comprehensive selection of
postage stamp proofs of Portu-
gal and Colonies.

We invite your inquiries about
this specialized material from
two increasingly popular areas.

New England Stamp Co.

45 Bromfieid St. Boston, Mass. 02108

WANTED TO BUY

Proof bank notes — books — En-
gravings — vignettes of any bank
note company.

Bureau of engraving books, vi-
gnettes etc.

Counterfeit detectors — Heath,
Ormsby, etc.

Documents pertaining to banknote
companies, engravers, etc.

Please forward your material, to-
gether with price.

if accepted we will promptly air
mail check.

James Incorporated

P. O. Box 18088, Louisville, Ky. 40218
Telephone 502-459-8774

Rare Proofs

#40LITC5 (3c City Des. Post) Reprints
From Orig. Die, on Colored Papers, set of
4, Rare $750

#13P1 (10c, Ty. I) Large Die Proof, Su-
perb, Very Rare $650

#112-22P2a (1869 Pan-Pac. Small Die
Proofs) Superb, except 30c V.F., Very
Rare - possibly only comp, set existing,
P.F. Certs. Cat. $4,650-|-f $6,500

#125S-B* (3c Reissue - “Specimen”

Ovpt. ) V.F. O.C., Reperf left, unlisted in
Scott, Very Rare - Possibly Unique, P.F.
Cert $850

#126S-B’’' (6d Reissue - “Specimen”

Ovpt.) Extremely Fine, O.C., unlisted in
Scott, Very Rare - Possibly Unique $950

#129, 120-22P4a (15c, 24c, 30c, 90c -
1869 - Inverted Centers) V.F. to Superb,
Cat. $3,200+ $3,200

#219-29P1 (1890 Large Die Proofs) Ex-
tremely Fine, Very Slight Age Stains,

Cat. $1,595+ $1,250

#239TC4 (30c Col. - Black Trial Color)
Bot. Imprint & Plate No. Block of 1 0 -
only 2 known. Superb Beauty! ....$2,500

#247, 250, 253-63P1 (1894 Large Die
Proofs) 6" X 8" Cards, some slight toned
spots. Very Fine overall. Rare, Cat. $785

$585

#247-63P2a (1894 - Pan Pac. - Small Die
Proofs) V.F., usual age toning P.F. Cert,
on #263, Very Rare, Cat. $3,000+

$2,500

#279, 280-4P2a (1898 - Pan Pac. - Small
Die Proofs) V.F.+, usual age toning. Very
Rare, P.F. Cert, on #284, Cat. $1,350+

$1,000

WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED IN U.S.
PROOFS OR ESSAYS?

Satisfaction or Immediate Refund
Gladly Sent on Approval with References
Installment Payment Terms If Desired

(No Interest or Carrying Charges)

JACK E. MOLESWORTH, INC.

APS 88 BEACON STREET
SPA BOSTON, MASS. 02108

CSA Phone (617) 523-2522

THE NEW SEASON
1975-76

Selling in the right market at the right time

Between September and the end of the year
we are planning some twenty auctions, one of
which might well be just the right market
for the collection that you want to sell.

Amongst these sales in LONDON we have
four days in September when we are selling
Great Britain, British Empire, Overseas and
Bermuda including (Senator the honourable
Henry D. Hicks collection). In October, we
plan two days, one of Scandinavia and the
other at present free. November will see
Great Britain and British Empire auctions
and in December Overseas.

In BOURNEMOUTH there will be a large
general sale each month plus a Revenue Auc-
tion in October and a Postal History Auction
in November.

There will be four days devoted to auctions
in BASLE in October — a fine opportunity
for the European market.

Three sales are planned in MELBOURNE,
most of which will include further portions
of the John Powell, Pacific collection and the
C. F. Gordon, Australian States.

On the 28th November we are holding our
first auction in BERMUDA, the day after
Thanksgiving and the day before the Ber-
muda Exhibition. The Caribbean, Bermuda
and North America will be featured.

ROBSON LOWE LTD.

50 Pall Mall, London SWl Y 5JZ

Telephone: (01)839 4034
Telex: 915410

Cables: STAMPS LONDON S.W.l.

“IFe sell your stamps where they sell best.’’
V.A.T. No. 239/4486/31.

Correspondents sending property for sale can avoid
British Value Added Tax complications by including
the V.A.T. number on the outside of the package.
If sending by freight (air or surface) please secure
the appropriate labels from us before despatch.

Sell through Harmers and get

Concise and Experienced Auction
Programming^

with full consideration to timing,
competitive auctions and philatelic
attractions.

Professionally Produced Auction
Catalogues^

Liberally illustrated; produced hy
the Publicity Department of
Harmers.

An International Clientele,

based on the three mailing lists of
H. R. Harmer, Inc., (New York),
H. R. Harmer Ltd. (London) and
H. R. Harmer Australia Pty., Ltd.,
(Sydney, Australia), brought to-
gether over decades of service and
satisfaction.

Extensive World-Wide Advertising,

generous at all times, directed to areas of particular interest relative to the auction’s
contents.

Top Specialist Descrihers,

with some 200 years of professional philately between them.

Pull Insurance at all Times,

including transit insurance and “on premises” coverage.

Free Appraisals to Vendors,

not wishful thinking, but factual.

(Guaranteed Minimum Realizations,

based on appraisal figures (for a small additional charge).

Advance Payments on Request, Prompt Settlements,

up to 60%, based on appraisal. five weeks after the auction.

YOU’RE

ON THE

BIG BOARD

HARMERS

And All These At The Normal Recognized Commission Rates!

We have an excellent descriptive booklet “Modern Methods of Philatelic Selling” which we

will be happy to send gratis.

H. R. HARMER, INC.

Ihe International Stamp Auctioneers

6 WEST 48th STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10036

Telephone: (212) 757-4460 (3 line ) Cable: Harmersale, New York

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